The Good, The Bad, And The Evil
by Northern-Southern Belle
Summary: When it becomes apparent that the demon who became part of Christian is just one of many who are looking for hosts, and that he and his are not actually immune from possession, John decides to swallow his pride and help his one time enemies the Mikaelsons combat the new threat.
1. The Evil

**Disclaimer: Only the plot and original characters belong to me!**

At the bottom of an extinct volcano, a strange gathering was taking place. A party, with several people, men and women, boys and girls, all laughing, talking loudly, drinking, celebrating. Many of them looked like normal people in jeans, t-shirts, and dresses, but some looked frankly monstrous. A few of them had gray skin, red eyes, and horns. Others had pale skin like corpses and eyes that were nothing but holes. And a third group had skin that was dark blue and shiny with black eyes.

Standing above all the revelers was a man and woman. One had dark eyes and short dark hair, and when he smiled, white teeth with the sharpness of fangs flashed. He had his arms around a black-haired woman whose eyes were cold as she stared at the group.

"I think it's time, Eric," she whispered.

He nodded, his voice magnifying. "Silence!"

The room lapsed into just that, and he grinned. "Thank you. We're here to celebrate the fact that one of us has found a host body. There has been no trouble since, and you know what that means. Soon, we'll be able to go and find hosts of our own!"

The proclamation was met with cheers and Eric grinned and went to join his fellows for another round of drinks as he wondered just what the first of their kind to successfully invade a human was up to.

* * *

 _"Hi, Jill…miss me?"_

 _Jill sat up, her body warm to the touch as she pulled the covers aside, got out of bed, and strode toward Christian, who stood at the foot, grinning at her._

 _"Well, this is interesting," he remarked. "I had no idea you would still sleep naked after I left."_

 _"It's only been recently," she told him. She grabbed his hand and led him to her bed then, glad that he was already as naked as she was because she didn't want to waste time undressing him. As she threw her arms around him, he pushed into her over and over, pausing only a moment to let her fall back onto the mattress as he kissed the warm skin of her stomach and then gently sucked on her breasts. The feeling was something she'd missed for sure. Then he pulled out of her and began rubbing her slowly and steadily while she moaned and cried…but soon, her cries didn't seem to be her own._

Then everything disappeared and she woke up to find herself in darkness with baby Sophia crying loudly in the bassinet beside her.

Jill was disoriented, that was for sure. But when she thought she had come back to her senses, she got out of bed and went to comfort her daughter, who sometimes slept the night with her, even though she had her own room also. "There, there," she whispered as she reached out for her. "It's okay. Mommy is sorry she woke you…" She reached out for Sophia, but as the moonlight illuminated the baby's face while she wailed and screamed, Jill was overcome with horror. Her daughter's eyes were red, the skin on her face was gray, and Jill could just make out the stubs of two little horns on her head. And it that wasn't scary enough, a little forked tongue poked out of her mouth for a second or two before going back where it belonged.

"Oh, god," she gasped as she backed away, hoping that sight wasn't real and that maybe she was still dreaming. She ran to the bathroom next door, trying to catch her breath. Then, she got a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her face matched what she'd seen on Sophia!

Wanting to run away from that frightening visage, she ran out of the bathroom and into the dark hallway, still hearing Sophia's crying.

The darkness made her disoriented. She knew she should go back and comfort her daughter, but she couldn't. It was just…it was too frightening. Finally, overcome by it all, she let out a terrible shriek, calling for Christian before she passed out on the wood floor and knew no more.

A few minutes later, Christian, in his own demon form, was standing over her. He'd turned because he'd been so full of worry at the panic in her voice. He picked her up and carried her to her bed, tucking her in before going to see what was wrong with his daughter.

When he saw her, he was a bit surprised himself, though not in the same way her mother had been. It had been something he'd been expecting when she was born, but to actually see that demon face on a child, well…since he knew what triggered the transformation, he wanted to make it go away as soon as possible. Since Jill was out of commission, it was all up to him.

As he cradled Sophia and helped calm her down, he heard a frantic knocking on Jill's bedroom door.

"Jill, sweetie?" Called Helene's panicked voice. "Are you okay? Is Sophia all right? Why did you scream?"

"Come in and I'll explain," Christian called.

So Helene did, turning on the lights and breathing a sigh of relief when she saw him. "What happened here?" She asked.

"Apparently, Sophia got upset enough to trigger her demon appearance," Christian told her. "And it must've really freaked Jill out. When I found her in the hallway by the bathroom, she was out cold."

Just then, Jill came to. "You would have fainted too if you looked in the mirror and saw that you had horns and gray skin and red eyes! I mean, I must've imagined it, but it was scary as hell! First Sophia and then me? What's going on?"

"I don't think it's something you imagined," Christian told her. "When I saved you, it was by giving you half my heart, which later turned into a whole one. Remember that? Apparently, it made you have some demon in you."

"Did you know that was gonna happen when you did it?" Jill asked, her jaw dropping.

"No, I did not," Christian shook his head. "But even if I _had_ known, I still would have done it, because, call me selfish, but I would rather you be alive with a bit of demon in you than dead. Don't you feel that way?"

"Yeah, I guess I do," Jill nodded. "It's just sort of a shock, you know?"

"Yes," Christian nodded, recalling the first time he'd seen himself turn and shuddering. "Believe me, I do. It's no picnic."

"How does your head feel?" Helene wanted to know. "Does it hurt? Do you feel nauseous? How many fingers am I holding up? Do you see more than one of me?"

"You're holding up three fingers," Jill told her. "And other than a little head pain, I feel all right."

"Good," Helene nodded and stood up. "I'll go tell Malachai. He was worried out of his mind. And you get some sleep, all right?"

"Sure," Jill promised. "I will."

Helene left then and Jill looked at Christian. "Thank you for coming when I needed you. Although if you hadn't, I wouldn't have blamed you for it."

"Why wouldn't I have come?" Christian asked as he rocked Sophia, who had calmed down, but was looking at him with interest. "I know how mad you are with me, so for you to call me in that panicked tone, I figured something pretty bad had to be going on. It even made me turn myself I was so worried for you."

"Thank goodness you still have your magic so that when I called you like that, you heard it," Jill remarked. "If we'd _both_ been powerless, it wouldn't have done any good."

"You're not _entirely_ powerless, are you?" Christian asked. "Don't your powers still work sometimes?"

"Yeah," Jill nodded. "They do, but I don't get why."

"I would guess that it's because of that bit of demon in you, but I don't know for sure," Christian replied, giving Sophia a kiss as her eyes closed and putting her back in her bassinet. Then he went to sit by her mother on the bed, keeping his hands firmly in his lap. "If you're all right now, I'll go. You probably want to get back to sleep after all this, don't you?"

"I should," Jill nodded. "I _did_ promise Helene, after all."

"Well, I'll be on my way, then," he said and got up. But when he had his hand on the doorknob, Jill said something surprising.

"Please stay," she requested. "At least for the night. You know, just in case Sophia has another upset, I'd feel better knowing you were here to help out. There's a room next door you can sleep in."

"All right," Christian nodded. "I'll stay…for Sophia. Goodnight, Jill."

"Thank you," Jill gave him a hint of a smile. "Goodnight, Christian. Sleep well."

"I will," Christian told her. "You too." He shut off the lights on his way out, then settled himself into the empty room next door, hoping neither Jill nor Sophia would need him again so soon.

* * *

"So you're telling me that you have no powers at all?" Amelia asked Selina. "You're completely human again."

"Well, I don't know if I can say that because I haven't tried to deal with my werewolf side, but I know for sure that I'm not a vampire anymore," Selina replied.

"And how does that feel?" Amelia asked. "Does it bother you? Cause we both know your experience at human life wasn't pleasant before."

"Well, just like you, I have the chance to have a do-over with someone nice," Selina smiled. "Things still good with you and Uncle Andrew?"

"Oh, yes," Amelia smiled. "He and Thomas are at Thomas' high school registration right now, getting his schedule and everything. Thomas says that now that he's human and won't have to hide, it's a perfect time to start with that."

"Well, good for him," Selina smiled. "And I know you can help him cause you're a teacher and all, but I have a couple of degrees myself, so if I can help any, let me know."

"And just what did you study?" Amelia asked curiously. "Not cooking. That's a natural talent you have."

"At one point, it was foreign languages," Selina told her after acknowledging the compliment with a smile. "French and Spanish, and at another, it was…psychology. Really helped me understand a lot of things."

"Yeah," Amelia nodded. "I bet it did." She paused. "We haven't done book club in a while. Wanna keep that going?"

"Sure," Selina nodded. "Do you have a book in mind?"

"No, but I'm sure we could find one that we both agree on," Amelia told her. "Right?"

"Of course," Selina agreed.

Amelia then got up to get Selina a drink just as Andrew and Thomas came through the door, grins on their faces.

"Guess who's signed up for high school?" Andrew announced.

"I'll give you a hint," Thomas said as he sat next to his sister. "It's me!"

"That's not a hint," Selina told him. "But…good for you! I'm so proud! What does Davina think of all this?"

"Well, she's bummed that it takes time away from us, but she's for it," Thomas said. "In fact, we're going out to dinner tonight to celebrate."

"That's nice," Selina told him. "You should. This is a big step."

"I know," Thomas nodded. "I'm a bit nervous. Not really used to structure like they have in school. What if I can't hack it? What if I get bored and run away?"

"Well, the good news for you is that your feelings are no different from anyone else's who goes to school," Selina informed him. "Lots of people find the way school is laid out tedious and have to fight the impulse to run every single day."

"Did you have that problem?" Thomas asked as Amelia put some tea down in front of her daughter and then asked her son if he wanted anything. "No, thanks," he told her. "I'm a bit anxious to be hungry."

"I always was fascinated by school," Selina told him. "When you hear your whole life that you're not worth being educated because of your sex, when the chance comes up to do just that, your impulse to take it on is stronger. At least it was for me, anyway. I mean, our mother even went and got a Masters and she was pretty traditional at one point."

"You know, I never thought of it that way," Thomas remarked.

There was another knock at the door and Amelia let Davina in. "Did you do it?" She asked Thomas, her dark hair flying in her face. "Did you sign up for school?"

"Yes, I did," Thomas nodded. "I start in a few days. I know that disappoints, you, but…"

"What I'm disappointed about is that I'm gonna see less of you because of all the studying and classes," Davina interrupted. "Not the fact that you're going back to school in the first place. I think it's great. Besides, I'll have plenty to occupy myself with helping Malachai and everyone else figure out why our magic is gone." She sighed and sat down. "Why we didn't just kill John and Christian when we had the chance, I'll never know. I mean, of course Jill and Leslie didn't want to, but we could have overruled them easily. Now John got away and all our powers are gone, and Jill was murdered. Where is the good here?"

"I'm sure it'll work out in the end," Thomas told her. "If you help me study, I'll help you be human. Deal?"

Davina looked up at his smiling face and scowled. "The fact that you're so damn optimistic about everything irks me."

"Let's put your mind on something else then," Thomas told her. "Wanna see my class schedule?"

"Sure, pass it over here and let me see just what sort of hell you're putting yourself through," Davina told him. She looked it over. "You know, that doesn't look so bad."

"You know, it might not hurt for you to take some classes," Thomas pointed out. "I mean, how much did they let you learn when you were trapped in the asylum?"

"Not much," Davina shook her head. "The thought of us being intelligent in addition to being powerful scared everyone too much. And I mean to catch up. But I'm gonna do it with books and stuff. School would just make me feel trapped again."

"All right," Thomas agreed. "I just don't want you missing out."

"Yeah, cause you wouldn't want an idiot for a girlfriend," Davina stood up, her eyes narrowing.

"No, that's not what I meant!" Thomas tried to reassure her.

"Yes, it is!" Davina nodded. "I know it is!" strode back toward the door, preparing to leave, but Thomas gave her pause.

"Since you're mad at me, does it mean we're not having dinner?"

"Of course we're still having dinner!" Davina told him. "It's at eight, we're eating at my house, and be sure to wear a suit and tie!" She then strode out of the house and slammed the door behind her, giving Amelia and Selina the opportunity to drop the pretense of pretending not to hear her outburst.

"She's a tad sensitive, isn't she?" Amelia remarked.

"Well, I don't blame her for having some trouble adjusting to everything," Selina said. "Being stuck in an asylum can do things to you. Think of all she missed out on."

"Yeah, sometimes it boggles my mind to think of it," Thomas remarked. "I wonder what she's making for dinner?"

"Whatever it is, I'd examine it first if I were you," Selina advised. "With the way she's feeling, she might spit in it before she gives it to you."

"I know," Thomas agreed. "It's something I'm keeping in mind."


	2. The Good And The Bad

When Jill woke up, she found Christian in her room again, cradling Sophia, who seemed in good spirits.

"Sorry," he apologized when she saw him and her mouth opened to say something about it. "I wanted to come in and wish you good morning before I left. That and make sure that Sophia was fine. If she had her demon face on again, I didn't want you to have to deal with it again before you were entirely awake."

"Thanks," Jill told him. "We made it through the night just fine, luckily."

Christian nodded, his blue eyes bright. "I figured as much since no one came to get me."

"Thanks again for coming," Jill said again. "That's gonna go a long way toward making the bad dreams of what happened before disappear."

"Good," Christian smiled. "I'm glad. But I still think we should keep our distance most of the time because of John. I mean, I know he's gone now, but the second things get good between us, you know he's gonna pop up cause that's just how it works."

"Yeah," Jill nodded. "Don't I know it?"

They then sat in silence for several minutes, doing nothing but looking deeply into each other's eyes until they heard a knock at the door. This made Christian spring out of his chair and hand Sophia back to Jill. "Damn, I have to go," he reminded himself. "I was so busy being reminded how pretty you were that I forgot."

"Oh, go on," Jill blushed. Then she said, "Who is it?" to the person on the other side of the door.

"It's your cupid," Helene told her. "I take it Christian's still here?"

"Yes," Jill called back. "If you want to come in, you can."

So Helene came in and Christian asked, "Should you really be shouting about my being here out in the open where Malachai could hear you?"

"Oh, he knows you're here," Helene said as Christian's eyes widened in horror. "But he doesn't hate you as much now since you saved Jill."

"Really?" Christian asked.

"Really," Helene nodded. "He was a bit grudging, but admitted it was fair."

"Well, how grown up of him," Jill replied dryly.

"I know," Helene nodded. "I was so proud of him."

"How is your mom feeling about John being gone?" Christian asked her. "Is everything just in shambles at the Council building?"

"Well, no one is there, if that's what you're asking," Helene told him. "They're taking some time to figure out just what the hell to do since there _aren't_ witches or warlocks anymore."

"You all will still need a government, powers or no, right?" Christian prompted. "I mean, what if my father comes back and decides to do something worse? If you don't have any sort of order, you'll be sitting ducks!"

"And my mother knows that," Helene assured him. "Don't worry. It's just that everyone losing their powers was a bit of a shock so she needs to have time to pull herself together and think of a plan."

"How long will it take to pull herself together?" Christian asked, raising an eyebrow as a lock of blond hair fell into his eyes."

"Not long," Helene replied. "She's probably working on a plan right now."

* * *

"Damn it!" Astrid shouted as she frowned at the pan on the stove. "Another egg destroyed!"

"You know," Alistair told her as he poked his head in the kitchen. "If you just would have waited for me, I could have made it for you."

"Thanks," Astrid told him, her voice curt. "But you were asleep and I didn't want to wake you just to make you feed me. That would be mean. Besides, if we're gonna be without powers for the rest of our lives, we need to start adjusting. And you would think I would be better at this cause of that span of time where my family's powers were taken away, but you forget how to do things on your own so quickly when you have magic, don't you?"

Alistair went and got two more eggs and put a hand around her waist as he cracked them and they fell into the pan. Then she watched as he took spatula in hand and moved the eggs around until they were cooked. Then, Astrid held her breath as he flipped them onto a plate without breaking either one.

"How the hell do you do that?" Astrid cried as they both went to the table. "Seriously, I want to know. Cause I did exactly what you did, and I _still_ screwed it up!"

"it's nothing you won't be able to do with practice," Alistair soothed his blond wife, his dark eyes calm. "Now, do you want toast? And I'm sure there are apples or oranges or something in the refrigerator."

"I would like some toast please," Astrid requested. "If it's not too much trouble."

"It's not," Alistair assured her. "I promise."

After she had toast, milk, and juice in front of her, Alistair questioned, "After you eat, are you going to shower and go into the office?"

"What's the point of going to the office?" Astrid groaned after swallowing a mouthful of yolk, some of which dribbled down her chin. She grabbed a napkin, wiped herself off, and sat it beside her. "The office is empty. What would I do there?"

"Personally, I think having time alone at the office would be perfect cause you'd be able to think about what to do without distractions," Alistair told her. "You can't stay away forever, you know. Not when people trust you to lead. _Especially_ in situations like this."

"All right, I'll go the office," Astrid told him. "I don't know what good it will do at this point, but I will. Would you come with me? I could use the help."

"Sure," Alistair nodded and got up to make himself some oatmeal with brown sugar. "Two heads are always better than one, aren't they?"

"Yeah," Astrid nodded, taking in the view of Alistair from the back and enjoying every minute of it. "Especially if it's _our_ heads!"

* * *

"You want to tell me where you sneaked off to last night?" Freya asked when Christian arrived back home. "I mean, you're an adult and entitled to have your own life, but would it have killed you to have left me a note that you were gonna be gone?"

"Ordinarily, I would have," Christian assured her. "But it was kind of an emergency. I couldn't spare the time."

"And what was so important that you couldn't spare a few minutes to tell your mother where you ran off to?" Freya cried, hands on hips.

"It was Jill," Christian told her quietly. "I heard her yelling for me, you know? She sounded terrified. She needed my help. When I got to Malachai's house, she was passed out cold on the floor. Sophia was crying. Apparently, Jill saw Sophia's demon appearance and it really freaked her out. And then she got freaked out enough by that that she saw her own, and…well, it was a mess."

"How is Jill a demon?" Freya wanted to know.

"To save her after I killed her, I gave her half my heart, which later regenerated into a whole one for each of us," Christian explained. "I didn't know when I did it that it would make her a demon, but as I told her, even if I _had_ known, I still would have done it, cause it would have been the difference between life and death for her."

"Is it really that frightening?" Freya asked. "Your demon face, I mean?"

"Well, I guess that depends on the person." Christian replied. "It freaked Jill out, but Sam has no trouble with it whatsoever."

"Could I see it?" Freya asked. "Would that bother you?"

"No," Christian shook his head. "I think it would be good for us. But you have to promise not to run out on me after. That's my one condition."

"I won't," Freya swore. "I promise. Now, how do you turn? Can you just do it?"

"It's easier to do at night," Christian said. "But like with Jill, strong emotion can also trigger the change: anger, frustration, fear, sadness. Maybe if you kicked me hard enough it would do it. Or stabbed me." He honestly respected her motherly feelings to make her so repulsed by the idea of hurting him that she'd resist, but she didn't hesitate to kick him in the shins repeatedly until he was down on the floor, definitely changed.

"Damn it, Mom," he cursed in a hiss. "You didn't have to do it that hard or that often."

"Sorry," Freya apologized. "Wow, that's some face you got there." She got down on her knees beside him to get a closer look. "No wonder Jill was terrified."

"But you're not, right?" Christian asked as she helped him sit up.

"Of course not," Freya assured him. "I've seen a lot worse in a thousand years. If I can stand your father still, I can deal with you when you're like this." She paused. "Thanks for showing me. I'm very touched you trusted me to see this part of yourself."

"I figured that I would have to let you see it eventually," Christian told her. "Now was as good a time as any. Now Jill likes me again and things between you and me are out in the open and I know you're not running away…" he grinned. "I'm on a roll today!"

* * *

"So now that we've had our little celebration, what happens next, Eric?" Asked the dark-haired woman as she woke up next to her lover.

"Well, now that we've had time to celebrate, we should continue working, shouldn't we, Lilith?" Eric replied.

Lilith nodded. "That makes sense. Would it be out of line to ask how we'll do that?"

"You don't need to know," Eric told her firmly as he took her face in his hands. "Just trust me, all right? Everyone else does." His eyes flashed red and a shudder went through her body.

"All right," she nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Good," Eric nodded and got out bed. He dressed quickly and said, "I'm going to go scout around for vessels. It won't take too long. John gave us a good start with his son. There are probably others around him that will serve our purpose quite well, don't you think?"

"Yes," Lilith nodded. "Whatever you say."

"And while I'm gone, I want you to stay here and watch over things," Eric said. "Someone has to."

"I thought you would say as much," Lilith sighed. "But you do know that I'm capable of doing more, right? Part of why we have so many people with us is because of me."

"Yes, I haven't forgotten that," Eric reassured her. "But it's too early to let you be involved. You'll get your time, don't worry. Just let me get the plan through my head first, and then I'll let you do what you do best, all right?"

"You better," Lilith said. "Cause you know deep down that every plan you have would be nothing without my help."

"I will," Eric assured her. "I'm going to go now. I'll see you tonight."

"All right," Lilith nodded. "I'll see you then."

* * *

Although Eric had told Lilith that he was going to scout around for vessels, his first stop had a different purpose. He found himself in a damp, dark cave, and he winced as cold water dripped onto his shirt and the bare skin of his neck.

He walked through the maze that was the cave's interior before finally coming upon a man in a ragged, dark cloak tending a small fire. Just as he managed to get it lit, Eric stepped on it. "Pathetic," he hissed, a word which brought the man's head up, his hood falling back onto his shoulders.

"You've changed," Eric remarked to him.

"Yes," John admitted in a hoarse voice. "I don't know how long I've been here. If it's been days or months. And you're the first…human looking thing I've seen since I left home."

John's hair was much grayer than it had been before. His eyes were puffy and had dark circles around them, and already, he was thinner from eating much less than usual.

"What made you do this?" Eric asked as he got on his knees beside him. "You're not _ashamed_ for how you helped me, are you? I didn't think you were the type."

"Of course I'm not ashamed!" John spat and pulled his cloak tighter around himself. "I left for other reasons than shame about helping you."

"And how did your plan go?" Eric pressed. "Did you succeed? Are all your sisters' creations dead?"

"Not exactly," John shook his head. "That was more difficult than I thought it would be. However, I've made them all powerless. Everyone on earth is human now. So if you want to do something with that…if that suits your needs…be my guest. Just remember…leave Freya alone."

"Don't worry," Eric assured him. "I won't touch your wife. But I _will_ succeed where you failed, John. Make no mistake about that."

He then disappeared to look for vessels, leaving John alone in the cave, struggling to light that small fire.

* * *

"I have good news!" Christian cried as he ran into the bar, relieved to see Sam on the other side of the bar washing out glasses.

"What is it?" Sam asked. "Did you get laid?"

"No, not yet," Christian shook his head. "But it could happen at any time. Jill's not scared of me anymore. Now, the only reason for our separation is my father! Oh, and I showed Mom my demon form and she didn't hate me for it!"

Sam grinned. "Well, we should just have a toast to the really good day you're having, shouldn't we?"

"Yes," Christian nodded. "I would like that."

As they toasted, Addie came down the stairs. "Give me a burger," she demanded. "I'm hungry."

"Didn't you just ask me for grilled cheese, fries, and onion rings like half an hour ago?" Sam asked her. "How could you still have room for a burger?"

Addie shook him. "Just do it!" She growled. Her eyes were red, and her breathing was shallow, as she tried to maintain her balance while the room seemed to spin around her. She grabbed a glass from behind the bar, filled it with water and chugged it as Christian and Sam stared. "Sorry," she said after swallowing. "Mouth is dry." Then she made a run for it before they could ask any more questions.

"Is she okay?" Christian asked.

"No, I think she's on something," Sam remarked. "I worry about her." He made her her food and took up upstairs.

"Here's your burger," He said to a lump under the covers in the bed of one of the upstairs rooms. "You still want it, right?"

"Yes!" Addie shot upright and began devouring the hamburger like an animal after she'd snatched it out of Sam's hands.

Sam backed away at that point. He'd come upstairs with the intent of asking her what she was on and why, but now didn't seem like the right time. Instead, he grabbed the business card for Patrick's club from the top of her dresser and brought it down to Christian.

"Do you know this place?" He asked as he sat the card down in front of his friend. "The Demon Club? Is that something your dad thought up?"

"No," Christian shook his head. "Where did you get that?"

"On top of Addie's dresser," Sam told him. "I wonder if this has something to do with what's wrong with her?"

"Maybe," Christian agreed. "If we asked her outright, she probably wouldn't tell us. As her concerned friends, we have a right to know what she's doing so we can help her."

"I'm gonna go," Sam decided. "You wanna come with me to check this place out?"

"Sure," Christian nodded as Sam wrote down the club's address. "Just tell me when and we'll go."


	3. A Little Crystal Blue Persuasion

"How are you feeling about this?" Sam asked as they pulled up to the Demon Club. "Ready? Feeling good? If you're nervous, you can stay in the car."

"That's sweet," Christian told him. "But think about this: between you and me, which one of us is actually a demon? If one of us was gonna go in there and be less likely to come out dead, it would be me, not you."

Sam sat back in his chair and sighed. "You have a good point," he admitted.

"Are you nervous?" Christian asked. "I'm okay with going in alone."

"No," Sam shook his head and got out, with Christian following a few minutes later, chuckling to himself as he saw the bouncers outside of the club.

"This must be _some_ kind of gym if they have bouncers," Christian remarked as they made their way toward the front door, thinking of a story to tell the men blocking their way.

"Or we could just show them the card," Sam said, pulling it out of his pocket.

"That could work," Christian nodded. "Good thinking."

They strode up to the bouncers, who looked at them suspiciously and blocked the door, and then one of them, a man with one eye and an eyepatch covering the other eye, said, "Who are you?"

"I'm Sam," Sam said. "This is Christian. Can we get in? Would that be a problem? Or do we have to know a password or something, because…" he held out the card. "Our friend gave us this. That's how we found out about it."

The bouncer looked over the card and it seemed to satisfy him, so he and the others stepped aside and allowed Sam and Christian entrance after giving the card back.

"Wow," Sam said as they were hit with a rush of cold air while making their way through the gym. "That was a lot easier than I thought." He scoffed. "Think about what would have happened if we _hadn't_ had that card with us?"

Christian nodded. "We might have been thrown out on our asses, and that wouldn't have done us a lot of good."

They got on bikes and as they pedaled, they looked around the gym. "Do you see anything weird?" Christian muttered to Sam. "This seems like a normal gym to me. But there has to be something going on that's not right. Otherwise they wouldn't have guards and a secret handshake to get in."

"True," Sam nodded. "Let's keep looking."

It didn't take long for them to notice an umarked wooden door on the other side of the room that people kept coming in and going out of, sometimes more than once.

Finally, they got off their bikes and Sam asked, "What do you think is in there?"

"I don't know," Christian shrugged. "Maybe it's another exercise room. Let's go see."

They made their way into the room, coughing as they were met with a cloud of odd-smelling smoke.

When they were finally able to see, they found a young man standing in a corner of the room, He wore a long dark coat and torn jeans, and his dark hair was mussed. As they approached him, he took the cigarette out of his mouth and grinned at them.

"Well, look at this!" He cried. "Newbies! What can I get you? I have a wide range of products available. Just tell me what you like and I can get it for you. Your first round is free, just to see if you like it."

"First round of what?" Christian asked.

"Drugs," Sam told him curtly. "He's saying that they're pedaling all sorts of stuff around here and I bet Addie is one of their customers." He grabbed the man by the lapels of his coat. "Well…is she?"

"Calm down, man," the guy said. "And don't spill the merchandise. If you do, you're gonna pay for it."

"Answer the question," Sam said through his teeth. "And if I have to buy something before you talk to me, give me a pack of cigarettes."

"That's it?" The man asked as he pulled the box out of his coat and handed it to him. "Are you sure you don't want something stronger?"

"Yes," Sam nodded immediately as he pulled a cigarette out of the box. "This is all I want, thank you. I've had that other stuff before, but it doesn't do anything for me anymore."

"You have?" Christian whispered. "When?"

Then the young man turned his dark eyes on Christian before Sam could answer. "What can I get _you_?"

"Well, I don't know," Christian remarked. "What do you have?"

"He doesn't want anything," Sam said quickly. "Now, about my friend Addie? Dark hair, blue eyes, heart tattoo that's clearly visible on her back when she wears low slung jeans?"

"I don't think I've seen anyone like that around here, friend," the guy remarked. "And I'm not lying, either, cause I'd remember seeing a woman with a tattoo like that."

"You have to be lying," Sam said. "I have a card here addressed to her from someone at this club."

The guy looked at the card and said, "You know, that's Patrick's handwriting. Ask him. He'll probably tell you what you want to know."

"And where is Patrick?" Sam asked. "Is he here?"

"He's got an office down the hall," the young man nodded. "He should be here."

"Thank you," Christian replied as Sam pushed the man aside. They then left and went to Patrick's office, opening the door and striding in, turning the desk chair around to face them.

"Are you Patrick?" Sam asked.

"That depends," Patrick replied and crossed one leg over the other. "Who wants to know?"

"People who care about Addie," Sam told him. "What are you doing to her? Are you the one who's getting her access to drugs?"

"Oh, I can't take credit for that," Patrick told him. "She had ways of getting her fix long before she met me. Don't you know that?"

"Well, of course!" Sam spat. "We toured together for ages. She's had that drug problem for a while, but she promised me she would stop when we broke the band up."

Patrick smiled a little. "Well, she lied to you, didn't she?" He said. "And what business is it of yours? If she needs a little fix from time to time, how will it hurt you?"

"I didn't worry about it before," Sam told him. "But now that she's lost her powers and is human, it could kill her. And if she would die because of her addiction, I would miss her very much, and so would so many other people."

"That's what all the friends and families say," Patrick told him. "But don't be here telling me. If you have a problem with what Addie is doing, tell her, not me." His phone rang and then he said, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to be getting on with, good day, gentlemen."

When they refused to leave, Patrick then called some of the burly bouncers who had been watching the door to come drag them away.

"And do you want us to give them the treatment?" They asked Patrick. "Or can we trust them?"

"Give them the treatment," Patrick said. "There's no doubt they need it. Cause they won't keep their mouths shut. I know it. I can tell."

So Sam and Christian were dragged for a little while before Christian remembered that he still had his magic and began to fight back in an effort to free Sam after he broke his captor's grip.

After they were both free, they began running and made good time until, just after they got out of the club, Sam was caught and a syringe full of bright blue liquid was plunged into his neck and emptied. Then he was left in a crumpled heap on the ground.

"What the hell have you done to him?" Christian asked the men, his jaw dropped.

"We just want to make sure he won't blab about this place to anyone who'll listen," the bouncer said. "That's why he can't remember he was here. People trust us and we don't want to wreck it for them. Now, can we trust you to keep your mouth shut, or do you need a shot as well?"

Christian scoffed. "I could snap you and your friends in half as easily as if you were twigs, but you aren't worth it. So don't worry. I'll be quiet about your little club. It's nothing to me. But if what happens here results in the deaths of Addie or anyone else and I find out about it, _then_ I'm gonna do something. Do you understand?"

"I doubt you could," one of the men chuckled.

Christian then shot fire from his hand, setting one of the men alight with a fire that didn't seem to want to be put out. As he became nothing but a burnt shell, the other man ran for it without saying a work, then Christian pulled Sam to his feet.

"Are you all right?" He asked his friend. "Who am I? Do you remember me?"

"Yes, Christian," Sam nodded. "Why are we out here? I'm hungry, we should go get tacos. And I'm really surprised you look so normal. I thought they would have made you turn."

"They weren't worth that," Christian told him. "Now let's go somewhere else. I don't want to be here anymore."

* * *

"What?" Addie snapped after snatching up her phone and taking the call.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Patrick yelled so loud that she had to pull the phone away from her ear. "What did I say about keeping your mouth shut when it came to my club?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Addie said. "What's your problem?"

"A couple of your friends stopped by the gym today," Patrick told her. "Got in by showing the bouncers the card that had my handwriting on it. Then they came in and talked to me about things they shouldn't know. Now, tell me where else they could have gotten that card besides you?"

Addie went and checked her dresser, swearing in a whisper when she saw the card was gone. "Fuck you, Sam," she muttered. "Fuck you." Then she fought back. "Would you stop saying this is entirely my fault? It's a gym, damn it! Not a members' only club! Anyone can just stroll in if they know the location. For all we know, my friends could have just wanted a work out. Don't start trouble before you know there _is_ any." She paused. "The people that came by…they weren't my parents, right?"

"No," Patrick told her. "Two guys, a blond and a brown-haired guy. I had them escorted out and the guards have orders to kill them if they try and come back."

"You shouldn't worry about Sam and Christian," Addie tried to assure him. "They can keep their mouths shut." She paused. "This isn't gonna jeopardize our arrangement, is it?"

"That depends," Patrick told her. "Are you gonna be careless and let other people find me? Or are you gonna keep your mouth shut and better track of anything that comes from the club from now on?"

"The latter," Addie promised. "I won't cause any more trouble for you, I swear." She paused. "If you want me to come by your office, I can show you how sorry I am."

There was a silence on the other end of the line and her heart began to sink. She'd had drugs from many different dealers around, but the stuff that the gym had was the best and if she had to settle for less because she fucked up, well…she didn't know how she would handle that. "Patrick?" Her voice was hesitant. "Are you still there? Do you want me to come?"

"Sure, why not?" Patrick told her. "It would give me something to do with myself during my break."

"All right," Addie said. "Thank you, I'll be there soon." She ended the call and headed downstairs to find her parents sitting at the bar, watching the television. She hoped their attention would be so occupied that they wouldn't notice her and she could just sneak out and sneak back without having to tell them where she was going, but no such luck."

"Hey, honey!" Vince told her. "Nice that you could finally join the land of the living. Want to watch TV with us?"

"You know, I'd love to," Addie replied and continued to the door. "But we're out of toilet paper, and that's kind of an emergency, so I was gonna go take care of that."

"Oh," Vince nodded. "Good. Would you mind getting dish soap too? We're almost out of that."

"Sure," Addie nodded and opened the door. "I will. Be back soon! Then I'll start cleaning upstairs." She then sped out of the bar, hopped on her father's motorcycle, and made her way to Patrick.

* * *

"Well, look who actually came like she said she would?" Patrick remarked when he opened the door. "I didn't really think you were going to."

Addie stepped inside and gave him a grin. "Well, that just shows how little you know me, doesn't it?" She asked. "Now, how long do we have for this?"

"Just half an hour," Patrick told her. "But trust me, I'm good."

"They all say that," Addie told him as he unzipped his pants and she kicked off her shoes and panties. "I need proof."

And almost immediately, she had it. Patrick took her in his arms and as his lips met hers, he lifted her up and braced her against the office wall, pushing into her over and over again as her hands mussed his dark hair.

A short time later, he let her down, handed her her panties, and then said, "We're done here. I need to eat now."

"So…so I'm forgiven?" Addie asked as she put her underwear and shoes back on.

"Yeah, you're forgiven," Patrick nodded his head. "But remember, don't blab anymore. I might not be in such a charitable mood next time."

"I'll remember that," Addie assured him before she left the office. "I swear."

Once she was out of the gym, she got back on the motorcycle and drove to the store to get the toilet paper and soap for her parents. And if they asked why it took her so long to get two things, she decided to say that she'd stopped for an ice cream along the way.

* * *

"Does it seem weird to you that Addie's offered to clean the upstairs rooms whenever they need it?" Roxie asked Vince. "Should we be worried?"

"No, I think we should be grateful," Vince replied. "Our daughter wants to help. Why ruin it by asking her what her reason is?"

Roxie heard this and sighed. On the one hand, Vince was right: Addie was helping and they should accept that. But on the other, she had a feeling…a feeling that something wasn't quite right with her daughter.

"Honey," she asked when Addie came back with the toilet paper and dish soap. "Come here."

"Why?" Addie asked. "Have I done something wrong?"

"No, I don't think so," Roxie assured her. They sat down on the stage and then she hugged her daughter and said, "Are you okay? You seem kind of off the ball lately. Sick. Do you need medicine?"

"No, I'm fine," Addie told her mother, trying to keep the nervousness from her voice. "Just a little tired, that's all."

"Okay, but if there was something really wrong, you would tell me, right?" Roxie wanted to know.

"Sure," Addie nodded. "Thanks." She started to walk away, but Roxie stopped her once more.

"Sweetie?"

"Yes, Mom?" Addie turned, trying to keep the impatience out of her voice.

"Are you using a new perfume or something?" Roxie asked. "It's an interesting scent."

"Yeah," Addie nodded. "Thanks for noticing." She then ran up to her room and put all her weed in a place that was harder for her to get to so that she would have to resort to shooting up in a less noticeable place instead. That way, her mother wouldn't ask questions that she wasn't ready to answer.


	4. Lies Our Parents Told Us

"Are you all right?" Klaus asked Roxie as she wiped down the bar. "I asked for a beer and this isn't a beer."

"Oh, I'm sorry," his daughter apologized and took Klaus' drink away from him. "Oh, shit, you're right. How the hell did I end up giving you ginger ale instead of beer?"

"I don't know," Klaus shrugged. "I was hoping that maybe you could tell me, if you'd like?"

"I'm just a bit worried about Addie," Roxie explained and poured some beer from the tap, setting it down in front of him. "That's the right drink, isn't it?"

"Yes," Klaus assured her. "Now, what's wrong with Addison?"

"I don't know for sure," Roxie replied. "She's been acting strange and mysterious lately." She paused, thinking about all the pills she bought when she'd been pregnant with Addie and her brother to induce labor, but hid them everywhere so Vince wouldn't know. "But I think she might be on something. I just have to find what it is."

"Yes, and how will you do that?" Klaus wanted to know. "Clearly it's something she wants to keep secret, otherwise you wouldn't be in the dark."

Roxie narrowed her eyes at her father. "Well, I think I know that," she snapped.

Klaus inclined his head and took a sip of his drink. "Do you even know where to start looking?" He asked.

His daughter paused, trying to answer that question. Then, it hit her. "Upstairs," she whispered. Then she gave Klaus a kiss and ran off to talk to Vince.

"Addie's not around, is she?" She asked him.

"No," Vince shook his head. "She and Sam went out to have a chat. Why?"

"Because I think I'm about to figure out why Addie's been so insistent about cleaning up upstairs," Roxie explained. "And I don't think it's anything good."

"Well, be careful," Vince advised, "I don't want to know what she'd do if she found out you were snooping."

"It's for her own good!" Roxie huffed. "I'm her mother. I'm supposed to do stuff like that!" She then went through every room on the upper floor and found nothing, until at last, she reached the room that Addie liked the best. "Come on, sweetie," she muttered when she got inside. "Don't tell me that you're dumb enough to keep your stash right in your room." She looked around, in the drawers, the closets, under the bed. Aside from finding what she thought was a needle in the trash, she found nothing. Then she gasped as she heard Addie and Sam's voices outside the door. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to explain why she'd been in Addie's room, she hid in the closet and tried to control her breathing.

"You know if something is wrong, you can tell me," Sam said as he and Addie entered the room. "If you've fallen back into your old habits, sooner or later, your parents will find out."

"I'd prefer later," Addie said. "But if they do, I'll just move somewhere else. They can't stop me if I don't live under their roof."

"They might not be able to stop you, but if something goes wrong, they'll miss you a lot," Sam told her.

"I bet they won't if they find out what I'm doing," Addie said. "I bet they'll be disappointed and disown me or something. And that's fine. What do I need them for anyway? I have other friends. I won't be alone just because my parents don't like me."

"Just think about what I said, though," Sam requested. "Please, Addie?"

"Fine, but it won't help anything," Addie sighed.

They left, and when she was sure they were gone, Roxie left the closet and ran downstairs to Vince. "I was right," she whispered. "Addie is using drugs."

"She is?" Vince asked. "What kind?"

"I don't know, but I heard her and Sam talking about it when I was hiding in her closet," Roxie said. "How do you think we should handle this?"

"At this point, we say nothing," Vince said. "What we do now is show her how much we love and support her. If we ambush her now and make her feel bad, she'll just run for it and we'll never see her again."

"That's true," Roxie agreed. "She said that that's what would happen." She sighed and put her arms around him. "How did she get this way? Were we bad parents?"

"No, we were great parents," Vince comforted her as he kissed her dark hair. "I always thought in the back of my mind that something like this would happen when she announced that she and Sam had that band. It would be par for the course."

"I thought about that too," Roxie nodded. "But I also hoped that Addie would be able to keep that stuff at arms' length. I guess I was wrong."

They then fixed their expressions as Addie came toward them. "What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Nothing," Vince shook her head. "Just how much we love you and how proud we are of the accomplishments you've made with your music. Would you get up and sing tonight?"

"Sure," Addie smiled. "I would love to."

* * *

Since the gym had been successfully infiltrated by outsiders, Patrick made the decision to move in there and watch everything more closely. He had a couch in his office that he could sleep on and he could always use the showers in the gym when he needed to wash. It was a solid plan.

When he went to get back his things, Malachai came upon him while he was packing and said, "How nice to finally see you after all that time you're spending at that sport club. Since you're back now, are you intending to stay?"

"No," Patrick shook his head. "You're real nice and all, but I think I don't belong here. I'm gonna go stay at the club. I think that's a better place for me. And you don't have to pretend like you care what's going on in my life. You just brought me here to be part of the coven and since that's done, I have no obligation to you anymore."

Malachai shut his eyes and tried not to get frustrated. After everything that had happened, a rebelling son was the last thing he needed. "You know I'm not the only one that likes to have you around," he got out. "You have a whole family here who loves you and supports you."

"Maybe," Patrick shrugged. "But I don't really need it. It's not my thing. I work much better when I'm alone." He paused, watching Malachai closely. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm on my way out. I want to be out of this place by the weekend, and in order for that to happen, I have to find somewhere else to live. I can't stay here forever. I deserve better than that."

He left and Malachai got in his car, driving to the Council building where Helene and Astrid were working on battle plans with Alistair.

"I don't mean to interrupt," he said when they all looked up at him after he knocked on the door and then let himself in. "But Helene, we need to talk. It's about Patrick."

"Okay," Helene nodded and stood up. "What's happening? Is something wrong?"

Malachai took her to the room next door, shut the door behind them, and said, "He told me that he wants to move out. That we're not enough for him anymore. Doesn't that hurt you?"

"Maybe a little," Helene admitted. "But I kind of feel for him. I mean, it's not exactly like you brought him to you purely out of the goodness of your heart. He and the others were around for a reason."

"That never actually happened, so he has no reason to be upset!" Malachai huffed.

"He might not see it that way," Helene pointed out, putting a hand on Malachai's shoulder. "I get why you're upset, but maybe letting him go will be a good thing for him, just like it was for Annie, Leslie, Jill…everyone else who's left. He's not the first one. And if you can adjust to Jill moving in with your enemy, I think you can cut Patrick some slack."

"I suppose," Malachai nodded. "I'm just worried about what he'll get himself into, that's all."

"We don't know what he was like before we found him," Helene pointed out. "Maybe he can do a perfectly good job of taking care of himself and we have nothing to worry about whatsoever."

"I hope so," Malachai told her. "Cause that's what he's got to look forward to with the life he's chosen for himself."

"Do you have any more venting to do, or can I go back to my mother?" Helene asked.

"Yeah, sorry, you can go," Malachai told her before he gave her a kiss. "Thanks for taking the time to listen to my rambling. I know you have more important things to do."

"Nothing is more important than you and the kids," Helene assured him before going back to her mother and shutting the door behind her.

Malachai stood in the hallway for a bit, then went to the pop machine and got himself a Pepsi, taking a swig and feeling much better as he made his way out to his car and drove back home.

* * *

"You wanna talk more? I think we should," Sam told Addie when he found her sitting alone at a table in the club. "If something is wrong, I want you to tell me. I know what's going on at that club. How many drugs have you bought from them? You told me when the band broke up that you would stop!"

"I know I did, but I'm not like you, Sam, I told you that last time you made me talk to you about this!" Addie cried as she brought her fists down on the table. "You were never in so deep that stopping was hard, but _I was_! And Patrick's got the best stuff! When you and Christian went there, and he found out it was my fault, he…he…had his way with me and then said we were even." She burst into tears. "I mean, I told him it was okay, but…what else was I supposed to say? If I didn't, he would have just told everyone not to give me anything, and withdrawal, it's something I never want to face again."

"Oh, my god, that actually happened?" Sam asked, his eyes widening cause the stuff he'd been given by the bouncers had made him forget actually going to the club and all he had left to ask about were his own suspicions about her drug use. "You want me to punch him or knock him unconscious?" He continued as he brought her face up so their eyes met. "I bet that between the two of us, I'm the better fighter."

"No, you don't have to do that," Addie sniffled and shook her head. "I can handle it myself. I'm going to stay away from him from now on."

"But what about your needs?" Sam asked. "What will you do about them?"

"I have that taken care of," Addie assured him. "As long as Mom doesn't find anything, I'll be okay. Now you better stop focusing on me, and pay more attention to Leslie before she gets jealous, okay?"

"I hope you're finding a way to manage," Sam replied. "We'll get you out of this, I promise. As for Leslie, I'll figure something out. I'll get her some roses and everything will be peachy. You want me to make you a grilled cheese and some soup?" He then went back to the grill to make it for her when she nodded, and when he was far enough away, her expression became somber and she blew a raspberry in his direction.

* * *

After she ate her food, she went up to her room, grabbed her syringe, stuck it in her purse, and drove off to the gym.

"Hey, boys," she smiled at the beefy bouncers. "What do you say you let me in?"

"Actually, you're not allowed," one of them told her. "At least for a couple of weeks, since you let those guys in. Goodbye!"

Growling, Addie stomped away and looked around the building for an open window, When she saw one that was thankfully just one floor up, she zipped her purse, hung it diagonal across her chest and boosted herself up, climbing until she reached the window and fell through it with a crash.

It was then that Patrick turned and saw her gathering a couple of syringes that fell out. "Hello," He grinned. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Addie then growled and stabbed him with the syringe, pushing him on the floor, her foot on his chest, restricting his breathing. "I came to tell you that even though you blocked me from coming in here, I don't need you. I have other ways of getting what I need!" She stepped on his hand. "Goodbye!"

He couldn't speak and as he stared up into her infuriated eyes, something came back to him, a memory that he hadn't thought about in years.

 _He was a little boy, about four or five years old. He was hungry. He wanted a sandwich. He ran to tell his mother, knocking furiously on her bedroom door._

 _"Mommy!" He cried. "I'm hungry! I want a sandwich!" He then stepped back and waited as the door opened and his mother, who had dark hair and blue, bloodshot eyes just like Addie, stared at him, a cigarette dangling from the side of her mouth._

 _"Patrick, what did I tell you about interrupting me when I'm with a client?" She remonstrated sternly in a voice that was raspy from all her years of cigarette smoking. He was surprised that she even knew who he was. Because a lot of the time, she didn't even know his name._

 _When he didn't answer her, she grabbed him by the hair and pulled hard enough to make him cry. "Answer me!"_

 _"I shouldn't bother you!" He got out._

 _"Good," she snapped and let him go. "Now, go have pretzels on the counter or something. Or better yet, why don't you have a nap instead?"_

 _This made Patrick's eyes widen as he let out a cry and began running as his mother chased him with the syringe. When she finally managed to catch him, she pushed him on his back on the floor so that he was looking up at her, then she put her foot on his chest so he couldn't run and injected him with the stuff in the syringe like she did whenever she didn't want to be bothered with him._

 _Whatever it was made him drowsy and as soon as his eyes closed, she picked him up and carried him to bed, shutting the door behind him._

"Are you done?" He asked as Addie moved her foot at last and let him sit up.

"Yeah, I'm done," she said. "For now. You're lucky this is all I did to you. I could have done worse. I don't deserve to have you treat me like you did yesterday. I'm sorry Sam and Christian found the club, but it's not like I led them to it on purpose. I like it here. It's the only place that feels like home right now."

"I don't care," Patrick spat. "Get out of my sight."

"Gladly," Addie returned. "Can I get some more coke downstairs?"

"Yeah, but you better hurry," Patrick said. "Marco's about to leave for the night."

"That's the most helpful thing you've said in days," Addie told him. "Goodbye, Patrick."


	5. Things I Don't Need

The next day, Addie was both shocked and dismayed when Patrick strode into the bar.

"How the hell did you get in here?" She asked. "Are the bouncers not doing their jobs?"

"Well, when I said I knew you, they let me in and that is not my fault," Patrick told her.

"Fine then," Addie spat. "Since you're here, either order something or get out."

"Well, that's real nice customer service," Patrick told her.

"Is there a problem here?" Roxie asked, frowning at her daughter and pushing her aside a little to address Patrick. "What can I get you?"

"Just a glass of whiskey please," Patrick told her. "On the rocks."

Roxie smiled. "Coming right up. I might have to run to the store room to get some more. Is that okay?"

"Sure, it's fine," Patrick replied. Once she was gone, he gestured at Addie. She came toward him and he got close to her, whispering, "We got some new stuff coming into the club and it's supposed to be amazing. Now, I'm not gonna give it to just anyone, but if you set me up with your mother, I might be able to get you on the list to get what's coming." He grinned. "Are you interested?"

She gave him a slap. "Now you have what's coming to you, you…pig! I can get stuff from anyone I want. I don't necessarily need you!"

"Then why do you always come and see me?" Patrick prompted. "Are there other reasons?"

"Maybe in your head there are," Addie told him. "But I sure as hell don't have any."

"Yeah," Patrick smirked as he took her hand and kissed it. "Whatever."

Addie pulled her hand away and came around to push him off the bar stool just as Roxie came back with his whiskey.

"What the hell is going on here?" Roxie asked her. "Don't you push him! He's a customer!"

"She should," Sam came into the conversation as he picked up dishes and silverware from a nearby table to bring into the kitchen to wash. "She has every right."

"Why?" Roxie asked.

Sam and Addie locked eyes and she shook her head, not wanting him to tell her the reason, no matter how much it would justify her actions.

"No reason," Sam shrugged. "Never mind." He went back to wiping tables and Addie grudgingly helped Patrick up (she knew he'd stayed on the floor moaning about how hurt he was just to make her look bad), and then gave him an apology.

"I don't know," he smirked after. "That sounded kind of half-hearted to me. Do it again."

"No," Addie shook her head. "Once is all you're gonna get from me. Consider yourself lucky that you even got that."

"I hope we see each other again soon," Patrick called after her.

"You'll see me, but I won't be seeing you," Addie called over her shoulder. " _At all_."

* * *

As if to prove her point, the next time she was at the club, Addie made an effort to ask around to see who had what before she went and asked Patrick for anything. If she was lucky, she wouldn't have to see him at all.

She wasn't in the mood for anything heavy that day and after looking around to see what everyone had, decided on something a bit different. She went to the snack bar area and found a young man selling pot brownies. He had ice blue eyes, blond hair that was almost white, and a cute smile.

He grinned at her, pulled out his tray, and said, "Are you in the mood for something sweet, as well as a bit of an adventure?"

Addie giggled and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "Are you talking about yourself or the brownies?"

"You can have both," he grinned. "If you want."

"Sure," Addie nodded and stroked his hand as his lips got closer and closer to hers. "Why not?"

Soon, they were making out, ignoring a whole line of people who'd come to buy, which made someone complain to Patrick.

He strode downstairs, frowning deeply when he saw them together, pulling them apart and threatening to fire the blond guy, who hissed at him and strode away as his eyes flashed red.

"What the hell's up with him?" Addie asked.

"No," Patrick shook his head, holding her face so she was looking at him. "The question is, what's wrong with _you_?"

"Nothing is wrong with me!" Addie cried. "What I do is none of your business. I can kiss who I want!"

Growling, he picked her up and put her over his shoulder, carrying her to his office as he ignored her loud protests that made everyone stare at them. He put her down in front of the office door, opened it, pulled her inside, and ordered her to sit down in the chair on the side of the desk opposite his computer.

"Now," he cleared his throat and tried to keep his tone calm. "Here are the rules if you want to keep coming here: If you want drugs, you come to me. If you want sex, you come to me. If you want anything at all, come to me first."

Addie smiled. "I think someone is jealous!"

Patrick scoffed. "I don't think so," he said. "If you're not gonna admit it about me, then it will be a cold day in hell before I admit it about you."

"Then why did you pull me away from that guy in such an angry way?" Addie wanted to know.

"Cause your libido was interrupting my business," Patrick told her. "And I don't want you to be performing so publically. You're not a prostitute. Have some dignity."

"I do," Addie told him. "That's why I wanted to see that guy instead. From what I could tell, he would have been able to last a while if we'd actually _done_ anything. Not just like the two minutes you can do." She stood up. "Just something to think about. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to look at the list of classes and see if there's anything worth doing." She strode out, leaving Patrick running his fingers through his hair and gnashing his teeth.

After their altercation about the brownie guy, Addie avoided the club for a few days and even spent some time with her brother and his wife Diana, who, thankfully, had no idea about her extracurricular activities and just talked to her like she wasn't just a person who took drugs. That was nice.

Then, when it had been long enough for things to die down, she made her way back to the sports club, signing up for a boxing class without running into Patrick, but on the first night of it, she did, when all was over and adrenaline was still coursing through her body. Everything was dark as she made her way toward the front door, so when she felt the hands grab her from behind, she turned around and struck that person in the nose. "Sorry!" She quickly apologized. Then the lights came on and she scoffed. "Well, wait…no, I'm not. What do you have to sneak around for? Don't you know it's not nice to grab women in the dark?"

"I just have something I want to make very clear to you," Patrick hissed. "From now on, if you want something, whatever it is, drugs, sex, I don't care, you come to _me_ , all right? No one else!"

Addie chuckled. "You're still pissed about the brownie guy, aren't you? But that was days ago!"

"Don't you tell me how to feel!" Patrick spat, Then they tussled a bit and she only stopped fighting him when his face changed. "A girl as pretty as you deserves better than a baker," he whispered as he kissed her, his hands going down her back and over her bottom.

"What are you doing?" Addie whispered. "What the hell is going on?"

He just grinned and turned her around so that her back was against his chest. He held her with one arm and then pushed up her shirt so that he could see the tattoo she had, which was very visible cause she was wearing low-slung jeans again.

"Beautiful," he whispered as he ran his fingers over it, just barely touching. "What made you get it? Were you drunk?"

"No, I just wanted to," Addie told him. "There's no crime against that, is there?"

"No," Patrick shook his head. "Not really. I didn't say there was."

"Well, then why is it that you feel a woman would only get tattoos if they were drunk?" Addie demanded. "That's what you were saying."

"No, I wasn't!" Patrick spat and pushed her away, the mood broken. "You tell a woman she's pretty, and this is the thanks you get." He scoffed. "The club is closed now. You should leave."

"I was," Addie reminded him and put her hand on the doorknob. "Before you decided to put your paws and lips all over me."

"I won't make that mistake again," Patrick assured her. "I promise."

She left the club then and got to her car, taking a call from Sam who wanted to know how she was doing. When she assured him she was fine, he wished her goodnight and she drove home to sleep. She didn't want to think about anything anymore, especially not Patrick.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Damon asked when he came upon Sam fixing up the dining room table real nice, including setting out Amelia's good china, which he'd asked to borrow. "Did you screw up with Leslie and now you're trying to make it up to her?"

"Well, yes and no," Sam sighed. "Not officially, but Addie's had a relapse when it came to her drug use, so I've been looking after her, which has kind of made me…ignore Leslie. She hasn't said anything, but I figure if I don't say _mea culpa_ pretty soon, she will." He then went to get the roses and put them at the center of the table, just as Leslie came inside after a visit with Jill and Sophia.

"Sam," she called, "You and I, we need to have a talk."

"I thought we did," Sam called back. "And I set up the perfect atmosphere for it."

Damon put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Good luck," he whispered to him.

When Leslie reached the table, she gasped and then sat down, running her fingers over the plates. "Oh, my god," She whispered. "Where did you get these?"

"From my grandmother," Sam told her. "They're just on loan for the moment."

"They're pretty," Leslie smiled and then took the flowers and remarked on how pretty they were too. "But just because you got me all this stuff, it doesn't mean we don't have to talk."

"I know," Sam nodded. "It's about Addie, isn't it?"

"Yes," Leslie nodded. "I know you and she have a history, so it's a bit selfish of me to ask you to throw her out of your life completely, but you've been spending lots of time with her lately. Extra hours at work and stuff like that. You _do_ remember that you married me and not her, right?"

"Of course," Sam nodded. "It's just that she's having a drug relapse right now and I just…I want to help her through it. She was fine before when she had all her powers but she doesn't have that now cause we're all human and I don't want it to kill her in the end. It's not anything about me having a wandering eye, I swear. And I…I promise I'll make more time to spend with you." He leaned across the table and kissed her deeply, and Annie waited until they were done before she set the bread down on the table.

"The burgers will be done soon, so don't fill up on bread," she advised before striding off. They then kissed one more time and then reached for the bread plate. "Thank you so much for this," Leslie told Sam. "I know that everything is right with us deep down and that you wouldn't cheat, but…sometimes I just need to be reminded of your feelings, you know?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded and gave her that smile that made her knees weak. "Why do you think I did this in the first place? I love you too. More than you'll ever know."


	6. Running Away From Your Feelings

After her next boxing class, Addie came out of the room and headed for the snack bar. While she was waiting for her water and granola, and while she did that, her eye caught the sight of Patrick, sitting at a table and waiting for someone. It didn't take her long to see his companion, a blonde with a bad tan, hair that was way too blonde, and whose chest was so big that Addie was surprised she could stand upright for more than two seconds without falling over.

She got her food and headed over to the table next to Patrick and his friend just as they began to make out. Addie let this go on for a few seconds before she cleared her throat.

"What?" Asked the blonde. "Can we help you?"

"I'm trying to eat," Addie told her. "Would you mind not spitting all over him in my sight?"

"Then move," Patrick told her. "You have long and lovely legs."

Addie ignored this. "Want to introduce me to your friend? I didn't know you liked blondes who had a lot of work done, especially on what goes in her bra."

"It's so cute you're jealous," Patrick smiled.

"No," Addie shook her head and stabbed at her granola. "I couldn't give any more of a crap what you do with your life."

Patrick turned to his companion and said, "I expected she would get grumpy when she saw us like this. She's my ex. We just broke up and she has trouble letting things go. She's _obsessed_ with me."

"Yeah," the blonde nodded. "It seems like it. You want to move to another table to get away from her?"

"Oh, he doesn't have to answer that," Addie told her as she picked up her food and moved. "See? I'm moving myself to save you the trouble. But first, I need to do one more thing before I leave you alone."

"And what's that?" Patrick asked, a light in his dark eyes. "I'm intrigued."

Addie then gave him a good, hard slap before settling down to eat, and when his date went to the bathroom, he sat next to Addie.

"Was that little display for me?" Addie asked, her tone dry.

"Yes," Patrick nodded. "Have I made my point about your feelings for me? You might as well admit they're there because I saw them."

"If I cop to it, will you just let me eat?" Addie begged. "Please?"

"Fine," Patrick agreed. "You admit to your feelings and I'll leave you alone."

"I guess there's a part of me that's attracted to you," Addie conceded. "But when you think about what part it is, that doesn't really mean much. I mean, look at you." She gestured at him.

"Yeah," Patrick grinned. "I'm pretty good-looking, aren't I? Not one could blame you for being upset."

Addie made a face. "Okay, I admitted stuff. You can go away now. I think your date's coming back from the bathroom. You don't want to leave her alone cause that would be bad manners."

"I suppose," Patrick nodded and chucked her under the chin. "But don't think I'm done with you yet. Cause I'm not."

* * *

Patrick was working on the club's finances after closing when he heard a noise and put his pen down, running to investigate. It didn't take him long to see a lean shape in the dark, bounding toward the door in a desperate bid to get out of the building; probably with the money or equipment they stole. He grabbed the presumed thief by the hair and tied her up the best he could in the dark, which wasn't well, but at least they wouldn't get away, and set them in a chair. He then went to turn on the lights, saw who it was, and even _he_ was surprised by who he'd caught.

"I hate you," Addie said to him when she revealed herself. "You proved your point. I get it, just like I told you. What happens now?"

He strode toward her until their chests touched and he was occupying all her personal space as she looked up at him, her eyes wide. "I think you know," he said as he took in the fact that she still wore her skintight workout clothes. "Tell me. Tell me that you want to take me before any other woman has a chance to. That's why you were in such a bad mood when you saw me earlier today, and why you're sneaking around in the gym after closing. "

"Oh, get a grip," Addie scoffed. "No, I don't want to tell you that. I'm not going to." But then he stripped down in front of her and her mind changed. "Okay. I suppose that just this _one time_ , we could." She then heard thunder outside. "And I really don't think I should be going out in this weather."

"No," Patrick shook his head as he untied her, pulled her to him and helped her off with her bra and shirt. "There could be all sorts of bad guys out there." He began kissing her neck as he stuck his hand down her pants and gave her a good rub.

"Yeah," she gasped. "You're right. Another reason for me to stay." She paused and gave him a little grin. "Although, I suppose if you wanted to, you could be more dangerous for me than any mugger could ever be."

"I could," Patrick whispered against her ear before nibbling on the lobe. "Does the idea scare you?"

"No," Addie grinned. "I find it _thrilling_." She then kissed him without warning, something that shocked him initially before he took control of the kiss, with one hand in her tangled her and the other on her bottom as he held her close against himself. When he felt her touching him, he picked her up and carried her to his small room near his office and tossed her into his bed, watching with amusement as she wiggled out of her pants.

"There," she said with a grin. "Now you don't have to feel underdressed."

"Oh, I don't," Patrick assured her. "You were the one who was _overdressed._ " He paused and looked deep into her eyes. "But why fight about that when we're both naked and could be doing something much more enjoyable instead?"

"I agree," Addie nodded, a mischievous glint in her eye as she ran her hand down his chest. "What are we waiting for?"

So he lay her down on the mattress and took her then, burying himself deep inside her over and over against as she moaned and panted and called out his name.

Eventually, she fell asleep, and Patrick looked down at her with a smile, his fingers gently stroking her soft skin. Precisely because she wouldn't hear him, he began talking to her. "You're so beautiful," he said and moved a strand of hair that had fallen into her eyes back where it belonged. "And I know that I'm not as nice to you as I should be, but…it's complicated. You look so much like her, like the woman who caused me so much misery and pain. Not that you're like that…but I just…I can't risk being hurt again. I hope you understand." He lay down on his side so that he was looking at her, and then to his surprise, she stretched out and grabbed him, though she was still asleep. He thought of pushing her away, but he didn't want to wake her up, so after wiping the tears from his eyes that always came when he thought of his mother, he hugged her back and they remained wrapped in each other's arms until the next morning.

* * *

Addie was the first to wake, roused when Patrick, having a nightmare, hit her. Her eyes opened and she prepared to give him a sharp reprimand when she realized he was muttering in his sleep.

"No, no…don't hit me, Mommy. Please. Don't put me in there. It's dark and cold. Stop…stop…STOP!" The last word was said in tones of such pain and anguish that Addie felt she had no choice but to shake him awake.

"Patrick, it's okay!" She told him. "You're safe. Wherever you think you are, you're not in any danger!"

He opened his eyes and grabbed her arms, squeezing tight. "How much did you hear?" He growled.

"No-nothing," Addie got out, trying not to wince. "I didn't hear anything, I _swear._ "

"Yes, you did," he said, shaking her and then pushing her out of bed. "Don't you lie to me!"

"I was just trying to help!" She told him as she got up and felt her head for a bump. "You sounded terrified!"

"Even if I did, it's no business of yours," Patrick continued. "You can't help me. No one can. What's done is done. Now get out."

"Oh, that's real nice," Addie spat. "Spend a night with a woman and you don't even offer her breakfast the next day before you throw her out?"

"Go _away_!" Patrick shouted and threw the alarm clock at her. She managed to get out before it hit the wall by the door, her heart racing. Although she was angry at him, she couldn't help but feel bad for him too. Whatever he was dreaming about, it sounded like hell. No wonder he was so pissed off all the time.

* * *

As Jill tucked Sophia in for her nap and went to make herself a snack, she had no idea that Eric was standing outside Sophia's window, a small crystal ball in hand that held a picture of who she would become when grown. When she became _his:_ curly blonde hair, big blue eyes, bright smile, just beautiful _._ He was getting impatient. He didn't want to wait.

When he was sure Jill was gone, he got inside the room and strode over to Sophia's crib, picking her up and looking at the drooling, toothless, nearly bald infant with distaste.

"You won't have to be like this forever, my love," he whispered. "You can be so much more. I can help you with that." He touched her forehead, which made her let out a small cry, then he quickly put her back in her crib before someone came in, saw him, and ruined everything.

* * *

The rest of the day and night passed without incident, but the next morning, when Jill came in to feed Sophia, she gasped when she found herself staring at a toddler who was standing up in her crib and grinning widely. "Mama!" She yelled and held her arms out.

Jill took her and sat down with her in the rocking chair, then went to call Christian and ask him his opinion on what was going on. "Do you think this is just like what happened with you?" She wanted to know. "I know you grew up pretty fast."

"It could be," Christian nodded and took Sophia in his arms. She automatically snuggled against him as he kissed her hair. "Papa…" she said.

"So you don't think this is anything to worry about?" Jill questioned.

"Not yet, anyway," Christian shook his head. "We'll keep watching, for sure, if it's something that's worrying you, but really, I don't think it's a problem."

"Good," Jill nodded. "I'm glad to hear that." She paused. "Would it be a problem for you to watch her for an hour or so? I need to go buy her some new clothes."

"Sure," Christian nodded. "You go. She's safe with me, I promise."


	7. Pushing Limits

Though Addie was pissed by being thrown out of Patrick's room after he'd taken the chance and let her in, she had to think of why. Of his cries of terror when she'd woken up and found him muttering in his sleep and yelling 'Stop, stop, stop!' It had been one of the most troubling, heart-breaking things she'd ever heard and she'd just wanted to make things better for him, which was _not_ something she thought she'd ever feel about Patrick.

"I need some advice," she said to Roxie as she mopped up the floor after hours.

"Is it about how to be nice to people?" Her mother asked. "Cause I notice that that guy you're always fighting with hasn't come by in a few days. What did you do to him?"

"I don't know," Addie shrugged. "That's what I need help with. Something is wrong with him and I want to fix it."

Roxie smiled and hugged her. "You know, it makes me very happy that you're occupying your time this way. It's very sweet of you to want to help your friend."

"Well, it's a bit generous to call him my friend at this point, but…I think he has problems and it sucks to have problems," Addie told her. "He's also kind of stubborn so I don't know how much good helping will do, but…"

"Sometimes, with people like that, the best thing to do is just be there for them," Roxie assured her. "It could just be that they feel they don't have anyone around who cares and knowing that there's someone who is, even if all they do is see them every day…that can go a long way toward improving their outlook, even if it's not totally obvious to the other person. I mean, I was a mess, and your dad stuck by me anyway. And now I have a good family and a business, and things are better. A little support can go a long way. Just think about that when it comes to your friend, would you?"

"Yeah," Addie nodded and started mopping again. "Yeah, I sure will."

"How did Addie do at work today?" Vince asked Roxie when he got home from his garage. "Good?"

"I'm not gonna jump the gun and say she's totally better, but I have a feeling things are going to start getting better for her," Roxie told him. "She was telling me about this friend she has who's got problems and she wants to help him. I think that's a really nice way to spend her time. A worthwhile distraction. Don't you?"

"Definitely," Vince nodded. "Cause now is not the time for her to get into dangerous substances when we're all powerless and it could actually hurt her." He paused. "Not that it would have been okay if she still had powers, but…the danger to her would have been less. I'm just glad we know about this now, before things get too bad and she's beyond help." He paused. "Do you think she'll take it if we offer it to her?"

"I hope so," Roxie nodded and hugged him. "I hope she asks us for help one day. I really do."

"I'm surprised you had the guts to come here after I threw that clock at you," Patrick said when Addie showed up at his office yet again cause she wanted to see him. "I thought that would scare you."

"You should know that I don't scare easily," Addie told him. "When you threw the clock, you missed."

"If you came to try and make me feel better, that's not what I want," He told her. "I have lots of ways to cheer myself up here without you."

"I'm not leaving," Addie told him firmly, coming to put a hand on his shoulder, then letting out a scream when he grabbed her hand and bit her.

"Keep your hands off of me!" He spat.

"Interesting command from someone who told me that whenever I wanted something I should come to him," Addie remarked as she massaged her hand and tried not to wince in front of him. "I always assumed that meant touching too. Was I wrong?"

Patrick sighed at this and rolled his eyes heavenward. He knew those words of his would come and bite him in the ass someday. He just hadn't figured it would be so soon. He then took her hand and gently massaged her palm with his thumb. "You wanna know why I'm pushing you away?" He asked.

"Yes, I do," Addie nodded. "Tell me." She sat on his desk and waited to hear what he would say.

He cleared his throat and really struggled to look her in the eye for some time before he got out, "I think…I mean…I want…shit…I don't think you should do drugs anymore. I don't want you to."

"You don't?" Addie asked, reaching out to tousle his hair. "Look at you, caring for my welfare. It's very unexpected." She paused. "And I don't know if I like it. What brought this thought process on?"

His eyes widened a second when he realized that she was right, that he was showing concern for her. He quickly backtracked, his eyes becoming cold again. "I don't care for anyone," He spat as he pushed her hand away. "But you're human now. If you take too much, you could die, and what you took could be traced to this club…and then do you know how much trouble I would be in? For once, would you think of how your actions would affect _me_ and not just yourself?"

"You really think I'm that stupid, huh?" Addie replied dryly. "I'm not. And I don't give a damn about repercussions, okay? I just…I don't care."

"I don't have to _think_ you're stupid when you talk like that cause you're actually showing it," Patrick told her as her jaw dropped. "When you had your powers, there was less of a risk and it would have been easier to stop, but now you're human and you're hooked. This isn't gonna end well for you."

"And why do you care?" Addie asked. "I bring in good business with my needs. They're my concern and not yours, so stop acting like my mother, all right?" She paused. "Or how my mother would act if she knew what was going on with me."

Patrick scoffed. "Well, from what I've seen, you haven't been subtle, so I wouldn't be surprised if she knows already and she and your father are planning some sort of intervention. Which is _another_ good reason for you to stop using, by the way."

"I told you before," Addie said through her teeth. "I'm not gonna stop using just because you say so. I won't. You're not the boss of me."

"I didn't want it to have to come to this," Patrick got out as he began pacing around the room. "But if you're gonna keep using knowing the troubles it will cause, I won't be your supplier anymore."

"What the fuck?" Addie cried and jumped off the desk. "You give me that big speech about how if I need anything at all, I should come to you and only you and now you're backpedaling? Changing your mind? Well, that's fine! I don't need you! I have plenty of other people I can get stuff from. It just won't be as good. But it'll do."

"You know when I told you that you should come to me for things, I didn't just mean drugs," Patrick told her as he put a hand on either side of her face and stared deeply into her eyes. "I meant other things too. Don't you need anything else from me, Addie?"

Addie knew full well what he was implying, but decided to play with him a little. "You know," she grinned, "now that you mention it, there _is_ something that isn't drug related that I'd like us to do together."

"Oh?" Patrick raised an eyebrow and licked his lower lip. "And just what is that?"

"I was thinking that we might watch a movie together," Addie got out. "That would be fun, don't you think? We could make popcorn and snuggle close to each other on the sofa…" She sighed and went to hug him.

She was there only a few seconds before he grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a shake, his eyes wide. "Don't you understand that I don't do things like that? I know what you're trying to do to me, and it won't work because I don't do that emotional, lovey-dovey crap! I don't snuggle and watch movies and eat popcorn. I'm a dark soul!"

"Fine, then how about this?" Addie proposed as she got close to him again and slid her hands in the back pockets of his jeans. "I'll work on stopping my drug habit if you…if you let me choose what we do when we have sex. You have to let me be in charge. At least sometimes. And then sometimes, we'll do what you want. Is that fair?"

Patrick's eyes bulged out when he heard the proposal, and he shook his head. "No, I don't think so," he told her. "I can't let you do that when I'm not sure you know what you're asking for. How I treated you when I thought you'd put the club in danger…that's what it'll be like all the time. I'm dark. All my needs are fucked up. I don't know if you can handle it."

"Well don't just assume things before I've had the chance to prove your wrong," Addie said. "Show me what you like and I'll see if I can handle it. Is that fair?"

"Fine, I guess," Patrick shrugged. "But I still think you're in over your head here." He grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet, pulling her along after him. And when they arrived in his room, that was when she noticed the box that took up a good portion of it.

"What's in there?" Addie asked, intrigued. "Your clothes?"

"No, not exactly," Patrick shook his head. He then picked up, chains, a gag, a whip, and a few other things and laid them at her feet. "That's what's in the box," he informed her, keeping his eyes on her face to gauge her reaction. "Are you shocked? Does the idea of being part of something like that repulse you? Now's your chance to back out, and I suggest you do it."

But Addie was looking at the whips and the paddles and saying, "You would hit me with these, wouldn't you? After you tied me up?"

"Yes, and you wouldn't heal right away like you used to," Patrick reminded her. "That's another reason for you not to be involved. You'd end up with injuries that would take forever to heal. Is that what you want? That pain?"

"I'm taking drugs, Patrick," Addie reminded him. "So many that you think it will kill me. I already know what pain feels like. Doing this with you…it'll hurt less, I know it. So please don't try and dissuade me anymore. It won't work."

Patrick looked at her, sighed and picked up a whip. "All right," he said and brought it down ahead of him with a loud _crack_!

Addie winced at the noise, but if he thought it would scare her, he was wrong. "So…" she said, crossing her ankles. "When do we start?"

* * *

Since Sophia was a toddler, Jill felt comfortable giving her a room of her own instead of having them both in the same room as they had been when she was smaller. And the fact that she was sleeping through the night meant that Jill's mind was focused on other things…like the fact that she was sleeping alone, and that there was a part of her that wished she wasn't.

She began to notice her libido picking up, and a particular smell that wouldn't wash out of her clothes, no matter how many times she put them through the washer. It wasn't a bad smell per se, but she didn't recognize what it was or why it was there. She tried to fix her libido issues by taking care of herself at night, but to her dismay, she found that it wasn't enough. She finally decided that the only way to get rid of the visions of naked, sweaty Christian behind of her eyes that made her wake up just as warm and just as wet was to go see Christian, hop in bed with him, and get it over with. She got out of bed, put on a robe, and then went to knock on Helene and Malachai's door.

"Are you all right?" Helene asked sleepily when she opened the door.

"Yeah, I'm good," Jill answered earnestly. "I just have to go out for a bit. Would you listen for Sophia in case she wakes up? Thanks!"

"Wait!" Helene called after her. "Why do you need to go out this time of night?"

"Trust me," Jill called after her. "You'd be much happier not knowing."

That made Helene even more curious and even a little worried, but since Jill didn't seem worried or troubled, she just shrugged it off and went to rejoin Malachai in bed again.

"What did Jill want?" He asked. "Is she all right?"

"I don't know exactly what's going on, but she doesn't seem to be upset or in any danger, so I'll just let her do what she needs to," Helene said. "We have to listen for Sophia in case she wakes up, but I don't think we have to worry. She's been a very good sleeper since she became a toddler."

"Yes, she has," Malachai nodded and closed his eyes again. "I think that's something we can all be grateful for."

When Jill arrived at Christian's apartment, she pulled the key out of her purse and let herself in. The apartment was quiet and dark, but just as she was about to change her mind and leave, she felt arms go around her and pull her close.

"Interesting perfume you're wearing there," Whispered Christian's voice in her ear.

"I know it's terrible," Jill nodded. "No matter how much I wash my clothes, it won't go away."

"You know," he sniffed the skin of her neck. "I kinda like it. It's spicy and dangerous and…so unlike you."

"I smell like I came out of a zoo," Jill spat. "I don't know how you can like it."

"So, what brings you here?" Christian asked. "I know it's not usual for you to come to the apartment in the middle of the night."

"Well, it's not really my own choice," Jill informed him, blushing a bright shade of pink. "It's just that, lately I've been feeling, well…never mind. It was a mistake for me to come here."

"No," Christian said grabbing her as her scent intensified. "You can't leave," he said. "You don't really want to, do you?"

"Yes, I do, damn it!" Jill cried. "I will _not_ let the fact that I've been seeing you sweaty and naked in my dreams every night since we separated control me. I won't!"

Christian grinned. "You've been having dreams where I'm naked?"

"Yes, okay?" Jill asked irritably and punched his arm when he burst into laughter. "I don't see what's so funny! This is a very awkward situation for me, Christian! I just want to get you in and out and then I can leave. That's it. Nothing lingering or full of emotion cause I'm not ready for that yet. I still haven't completely forgotten how you murdered me. And just because you saved me and were under a spell, it doesn't change anything."

"All right, all right," Christian nodded, trying to keep a straight face. "Do you want to do this or not?"

"I told you I did!" Jill snapped. "Let's go."

They hurried to his room and both undressed, but as he ran his hands over her body and watched her face as he pleasured her with his tongue, her moans of pleasure making him hard, he noticed that her eyes were red, and her skin was changing, becoming gray. She was just here because of her demon side. He stopped and she actually growled at him.

"What is your problem?" She asked in a distorted voice. "Can't you see what this mess has turned me into? You know what you have to do to fix it. I don't want to be ugly like this anymore!" She then noticed that Christian had turned a little too. He wasn't entirely changed, but his eyes were red just like hers and he had a gray tint to his skin.

"I think you're beautiful," he said, stroking her cheeks and then kissing her gently. "Cause it's part of what you are now, and me too. You don't have to feel bad about it."

She grabbed him and soon they were kissing a little deeper, their hands going all over each other's bodies. But then Christian found the strength to pull away.

"No," he said again. "I told you we're not gonna do this. If you were in your right mind, you wouldn't want me to, and I don't want you to wake up tomorrow thinking that I took advantage of you in a vulnerable moment, especially when things are just starting to work for us again. I won't ruin that." He shut his eyes and tried to think of a disgusting image that would get rid of his arousal as he got out of his bed and headed for the bedroom door after putting his boxers on, which was really difficult, seeing as how he was still very aroused. "You can stay the night if you want," he said. "I'm gonna go sleep on the couch."

"You can't do this to me, you jerk!" Jill called after him, hissing. "You have to fuck me! It's not hard! I'm pretty! What's your problem?" He then heard crashing as if she were upending everything in the room that she could in her anger.

As he passed by his mother's room, she opened the door, yawning, and grabbed his arm. "What in the world is going on?" She asked. "What's all that noise? It really makes it hard for a woman to sleep."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Christian sighed. "Jill came over and wanted to screw around, but when we started, her eyes got red and I realized the only reason she wanted to was cause her demon side had taken over and I…like an idiot, I turned her down cause I didn't want her to hate me when she was thinking clearly again. And I know I deserve better than just being used cause Jill has needs. Sometimes I hate having a conscious."

"Yes, I can see that," Freya nodded, her eyes flicking downward for a moment. "But what you did was good. Like you say, Jill will probably thank you for it in the morning. It'll be another way for her to see that you're not the same guy who killed her. That you don't wish her ill and you just want things to be good between you. I'm so proud of you, Christian!" She reached toward him to give him a hug, but he stepped back. "Please don't," He shook his head. "I really don't think my body can take close personal contact with any woman at the moment. Not even my mother."

"All right, no hug," Freya conceded. So she kissed his hair instead. "I'm very proud of you for how you handled this tonight."

"Yeah," Christian scoffed, his eyes narrowed as he thought of Jill and his cock throbbed. "I'm real proud of me too."


	8. Pawns In Other People's Plans

"Thank you so much for making these pancakes," Freya told Christian. "You didn't have to."

"Oh, it's not a problem," Christian assured her, wincing cause his back was still sore from sleeping on the sofa. "I like them too."

Just then, Jill came into the kitchen and he prepared himself for a 'Thank you' because of how he'd behaved the previous night. But if that's what he expected, he was in for a surprise.

"I can't believe you ignored me last night," Jill huffed. "The one time I let you do me in a long time and you didn't even take advantage of it. I don't believe you. Do you even think I'm attractive at all?"

Christian opened his mouth to respond, but Freya beat him to it. "Hey," she told her. "He only did what he did because he thought you weren't in your right mind and would be just as pissy with him if he did what you wanted. He was trying to show consideration for your feelings, which I think is damn good of him. It's a real show of growth and you should acknowledge it instead of acting like an ungrateful brat. If you're just gonna complain about everything, you can go back home where you belong."

"While I'm touched that you're so quick to come to my defense, Mother, I don't think you need to be so harsh," Christian told Freya as he piled a bunch of pancakes on a plate at the center of the table. "Being overtaken by your demon side doesn't exactly make you a hundred percent accountable for your actions."

"Oh, but you can't say she's still possessed like she was last night!" Freya cried. "And what about the mess she made of her room? Is she gonna have to clean that up?"

"Stop getting your panties in a twist," Jill told her. "I still have magic. I can clean that up easily." She then addressed Christian. "I suppose now that I know your logic, in a way, I can be happy about what we didn't do last night. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Christian told her. "Now, would you like a pancake?"

"Don't give her that!" Freya cried. "Make her eat at her own house! I'm sure that daughter she's so territorial about misses her."

"If I want her to eat, she should be allowed to eat," Christian told his mother firmly. "This is my place, remember? I can decide these things."

"Thanks," Jill told her. "I'll just have some pancakes and coffee and then I'll be out of your hair." She narrowed her eyes at Freya. "I promise. Cause like you say, I have a little girl to take care of. Or at the rate she's growing, she could be a teenager by now." She stabbed a fork into her pancakes. "Who the hell knows?"

* * *

"You've been smiling a lot since yesterday," Lilith said as she came away from the snack bar at the gym and put an arm around Eric, eating her wrap with her free hand. "Come on, tell me. What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, nothing new," Eric told her. "Just more about the plan. In particular, the thing you don't want me to bring up."

"Yes," Lilith spat and let him go, her eyes going dark. "Miss Sophia. I don't know what's going on in your head with her. She's not just gonna get down on her knees and thank you like you think she will."

"How do you know?" Eric asked, his dark eyes flashing. "I think you don't know anything and you're just jealous that she's so much more beautiful than you are."

"She's not like you, you know," Lilith reminded him. "She's a gray one. You're a white one. It's not gonna end well."

"That's where you're wrong," Eric told her. "That's the whole point of all this: bring together two species that normally wouldn't fit, and it will help consolidate my powers. What part of this don't you get, Lilith? Besides, she's not gonna know all the rivalry nonsense. Why do you think I suggested that people from the outside be inhabited? It was to make things easier, and people more pliable. I'm not an idiot."

I know that, but why do you think a toddler will help you?" Lilith questioned. "I don't see your logic here."

"Well, she's not going to be a toddler forever," Eric told her impatiently. "I made sure of that. Now, have you been doing your part while I've been working so hard?"

"Oh, yes," Lilith nodded. The fact was that she had been working very hard finding women for her kind to inhabit, but with the way Eric was acting now, how he was gleefully thinking about the future where she would be tossed aside, she thought that maybe it was time for her to _stop_ helping, since the plan would do her no good whatsoever. It was his plan, let him deal with it. If he could stop talking about precious Sophia for a single moment, that is.

* * *

After Patrick's deal with Addie was put on the table, she decided that she wouldn't give him an answer until he agreed to her conditions. To get him to change his mind in a timely manner, she went to the gym every day and as she worked with the weights or ran on the treadmill, she noticed him looking at her. But she refused to meet his eyes, and every time he came near her, she would leave and go to another machine. This enraged him, of course.

Finally, one day, he'd had enough. He strode into the room with the pool in it where she was swimming and dove in with her, clothes on, grabbing her, and kissing her hard. "All right, I've had enough," he told her when he pulled away. "Addison, you're driving me crazy! Tell me what your answer is regarding our deal. No more dawdling!"

Addie just grinned. "I'm still thinking about it."

He scoffed and splashed her. "Like I told you," he said. "You're driving me mad."

"Well, you know what you have to do to get an answer out of me," Addie told him. "Think about my conditions."

"Fine," Patrick scoffed and boosted himself out of the pool. He then noticed something floating beside her, her bikini top, he thought. "Addie?" He said.

"What?" Addie asked.

"I think you lost something," he told her before striding from the room.

Once he was gone, Addie saw what he meant, grabbed her swimsuit top and did the best she could to put it back on, although doing it discreetly in the pool was very difficult, especially with everyone around that could watch her at any minute.

With a grunt and a bit of a stretch as she braced herself against the wall of the pool, she got her top on, then got out of the pool, showering and dressing and then going to have herself a salad. After that, she strode to Patrick's office door, marked **P** **rivate** , and let herself in. "Okay," she announced. "You better be ready to talk now."

He jumped a little when he heard her voice. "Can't you read what that door says? Don't you have any sense of boundaries?"

She sat on his lap and played with his hair as his eyes locked on her chest. "Tell me what you know I wanna hear and I'll go away," she told him in a breathy voice as she kissed down his neck and nibbled on his earlobe. "Tell me that you're okay with us being a normal couple and I'll do what _you_ want. That's not such a bad plan, is it?"

"I hate you for putting me in this position," he told her, cupping her breast.

"Do you?" Addie grinned and kissed him. "What position would you like me to put you in?"

His body was getting warm and Patrick sensed he was going to lose control of the situation if he didn't do something soon, so told hold her off, he smiled and said, "Here's the deal: you meet me at the pool tonight after everyone's gone home and I'll have your answer for you. All right? Is that fair?" He grinned. "Oh, and wear that tiny little thing you were wearing today. Or nothing at all, if you want. That could really help with my decision."

"I just bet it will," Addie told him. He spanked her as she made his way out of her office, wondering if he would see her that evening or not.

* * *

"All right, I'm here," Addie remarked as she entered the pool room and removed her jacket to reveal nothing underneath it. "Now do I get to hear what I want?"

"Just a minute," Patrick told her as she joined him in the water. "What's the rush? We have all night." He reached for a glass of champagne that was on a floating tray and held it out to her. "Drink?"

Addie pursed her lips. "I don't believe you. You think you have me all figured out, don't you?"

"What?" Patrick asked innocently. "Do you hate having your own tactics used against you? Is that the problem?"

"You better be naked too," Addie said, eyes narrowed. "Or I'm gonna feel like the biggest idiot."

Patrick grinned, boosting himself out of the water and standing on the edge with his hands on his hips. "I am, see? I hope you're enjoying the view."

"Yes, I am," Addie nodded, not being able to help her staring. "Immensely."

"Well, now that we have that settled, do you want a drink?" Patrick asked.

"Oh, I guess, since you went to all trouble," Addie conceded and let him hand her a glass of champagne, which she drank as she felt him wrap and arm around her waist.

"I'm glad you came," He whispered in her ear. "I would have been really disappointed if you hadn't."

"Yeah, right," Addie shook her head and chugged what was in her glass. "I believe that and you'll tell me another one."

"No, I really do mean it," Patrick insisted, pulling her close. "I really wanted to be with you tonight." He kissed her then, his hands cupping her bottom and pulling her forward, making her gasp as she felt him bury himself inside her.

"Oh," she whispered. "Oh, Patrick…" She threw her arms around him as he braced her against the wall and pushed into her over and over while nibbling on her earlobe and holding her tight as she kissed his neck.

Finally, when she stood exhausted in his arms, he whispered in her ear, "I think I'll give you your answer now."

"You will?" She asked, coming back to life. "What is it?"

"Just one simple word," he whispered in her ear. "No."

She then growled and splashed him as he separated from her, got out of the pool, and headed for the shower. "You can come join me if you want," He offered, grinning at her frowning face.

"Drop dead," Addie spat and then dove under the water, not coming up until she thought Patrick was gone.

* * *

"I cannot believe how bored I am," Elijah complained over breakfast the next morning. "This human existence is absolutely hellish." He peered at his wife. "Selina, dear, how is it that you aren't bored out of your mind?"

"Because I am not stubbornly clinging to my same behavior patterns," Selina told him calmly before taking a swig of coffee. "You lock yourself in your office all the time, of course you're gonna be bored. Why would you do that when there are so many wonderful and interesting things to do in the world?"

"I suppose you have a point," Elijah conceded. "What do you think we should do, then? Go on a trip? I'll see if I can get the yacht."

"No, let's start small," Selina grinned. "Do something you've never done before. I mean, I already called school and told them we were taking the day off from work."

Elijah's eyes widened. "You did what? You might have mentioned it to me first!"

"If I had, it wouldn't have happened," Selina pointed out. "Now, drink your coffee and then get to the car. We're going to the zoo."

"The zoo?" Elijah scoffed. "Isn't that for children?"

"No, not necessarily," Selina shook her head. "It'll give us a chance to get out, at the very least. I don't even think you've ever been to a zoo. Don't knock it til you try it."

"You know, it used to be that in the Tower of London, they had a menagerie of exotic animals like lions and tigers that were given to the British kings and queens by rulers from other lands. It started with King John in the thirteenth century, and lasted until the nineteenth," Elijah told her. "There was even a point where it was fashionable to set up fights between the animals to the death. I remember going once. You could pay money to get in, or they would let you in for free if you brought a cat or something to feed one of the creatures."

Selina shuddered. "Well, the zoo is like that…kind of. You didn't bring an animal, did you?"

"No, I paid money," Elijah assured her as he followed her to the car, his wonder about why she was actually dressed for breakfast now answered. "I'm not a barbarian, you know."


	9. Pushed A Little Too Hard

After their encounter in the swimming pool, Addie didn't show up at the gym for a few days. At first, Patrick found it encouraging because it meant that that stubborn woman was taking his advice and devoting her time to being sober rather than wasting her time and life there. But then he realized that he missed seeing her around the place, and wondered where in the world she'd gone.

So he went to her parents' bar to talk to her mother. "Hello!" He called and waved at Roxie as he approached the bar and sat down. "May I have a drink?"

"Of course," Roxie smiled. "Nice to see you around here. It feels like it's been ages!"

Patrick smiled. "I feel the same," He remarked. "And speaking of people who haven't seen people in ages, where's your daughter? She missed her last boxing class and I wondered why."

"Well, that is so sweet of you to come and check on her, considering how she's treated you before," Roxie remarked. "She's not here right now, but I'll get the message to her that you wonder."

"Thanks," Patrick grinned. "But please, don't make me sound desperate, or anything, would you? Now, about that drink…"

"Oh, of course!" Roxie blushed a little, completely forgetting that she'd asked him for his order ages ago. "What can I get you?"

He grinned. "I'll leave it up to you," He told her. "Surprise me."

"All right," Roxie nodded. "I'll be back in a minute."

* * *

After his verbal battle with Malachai, Patrick was not really in the mood to talk to any of his coven siblings, so he wasn't happy when his brother Caleb tracked him down, calling him at work and asking if he could come spend some time at the gym.

"Please?" Caleb pressed. "The gym I go to is gonna be closed for a while. They have to get rid of asbestos and then give it a new paint job or something. And I can't spend five million years looking for a new gym."

"No," Patrick shook his head. "That's what you have to do! I can't just let anyone come in here!"

"Well since no one has powers anymore, why does it matter who you have to protect?" Caleb asked. "And by the way, I was only asking as a courtesy. See you in a few hours, brother."

Patrick sighed and put his phone down. It wasn't that he didn't like Caleb, but even without powers, there were still some very special people who came here and that would mean that his ignorant brother would be in way over his head. He grinned to himself, picturing Caleb meeting one of them. This could be amusing after all.

* * *

Even though they'd talked about it, Patrick was genuinely surprised when he saw his brother come into the gym and approach him at the desk.

"Hey," he said. "I told you I would come. Here I am."

"That's nice," Patrick told him. "But you didn't have to tell me. Have a good time." He then went back to reading his magazine and Caleb went to the weight room to some reps. As he lifted the twenty five pound weights, Lilith came in, which was initially a shock to Caleb and the other men in the room.

"You can't be in here!" One of the men was brave enough to blurt out.

Lilith narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh, stop," she said and let one of his weights down so it crushed his chest. "I can go wherever I want."

As the young man grunted and groaned in pain while struggling to get the weight off his chest and others tried to help him and even offered to take him to the doctor, Lilith ignored all that and continued to look around the room, her eyes meeting Caleb's with interest cause he seemed to be the only one focused on her and not the man she wounded. As she sashayed toward him, she said with a smile, "Don't you know that it's not nice to stare at a lady? But as long as you're looking, do you see anything you like?" She looked over his body as he lifted, appreciating his bulging biceps and the nicely sculpted abs she saw when his shirt lifted up. He gasped as she reached out and ran her hand over them. "You know, I see something I like," she remarked. "What do you say you and I go somewhere a bit quieter and we can have a workout of our own, just the two of us?"

Caleb didn't like to be distracted when he was working out, even by a pretty girl. "I'm kind of busy at the moment," he remarked. "Will you go away now?"

"Didn't you hear what I just offered you?" Lilith asked, feeling incensed. Not only did this man turn her down, but he did it after seeing what she could do if angered. "I don't know if you're brave or stupid, so I'm going to ask again: Why don't you come somewhere with me where we can be alone? I'm feeling a little hot, if you get my meaning."

"Oh, I _get_ your meaning," Caleb nodded, rubbing his scruff after putting his weights down cause this woman clearly wasn't going away. "But you don't seem to get mine. I'm here to work out, and work out only. I don't like distractions. Who do you think you are to act like just because you give me an opportunity, I should act like it's a big honor and just give in."

"I could give you a workout that's much more fun," Lilith continued in a breathy voice, leaning down so he had a good view of the breasts squeezed into her tight shirt. She wasn't used to being turned down by a man, so her solution was just to keep trying to seduce him.

"No," Caleb shook his head. "Now go bother someone else, would you? This is a gym, not singles' night at a bar, although I guess you're pretty enough that if you wanted to, you could find some other guy to take you home."

"But that's the point!" Lilith yelled. "I don't want another man! I want _you,_ and I always get what I want!" She ran her fingers through his soft blonde hair without invitation, which just made him angrier.

"Well, sorry to say this, but whiny, self-absorbed princesses like yourself are not my type," Caleb said as he moved away from her, not relishing the look that would be on Patrick's face when he heard what happened. "Goodbye."

He strode off them and Lilith was so mad she couldn't enjoy the view from the back as he left the room. She'd _never_ been turned down by a man before. Well, she seemed to be losing Eric's attention, and that was to be expected. She knew that wouldn't last forever. But to be rejected by a _human_ boy…it was indecent, that's what it was! He should be down on his knees, thanking her for the opportunity, not turning her down! What right did he have to be so choosy? Just for that, he was gonna see how wrong he was. She wasn't gonna let him go until she had him in her bed. That was that, and he better be ready. Just to make herself feel better, she used her powers to whack another guy in the head with his weights and then strode from the room as he lay bleeding on the floor.

* * *

Adrian and Kai were talking over their drinks, a rare visit with each other since with Victoria being pregnant and all, she always wanted him close to home. In the middle of their conversation, Addie approached the table and when Kai saw her, he said, "We've already ordered, but we'll tell you when we need refills."

"I didn't come to ask that," Addie told him as she sat down on a chair next to his. "I came to ask something that's a bit…private." She looked at her uncle. "Uncle Adrian, would you mind going somewhere else until we're done talking?"

"Oh, come on, Addie!" Adrian said. "Anything you can say in front of him you can say in front of me without being embarrassed. It's not like I'm gonna tell everyone what you say."

Addie sighed, realizing that her uncle wasn't going anywhere. She whispered something in Kai's ear, and he stood up. "Let's go sit at a booth," he told her. "Adrian, don't follow us. I'll be back in a minute."

Adrian's jaw dropped as his friend moved to another table without him, and he wondered just what was so secret that he couldn't be let in on it.

When Kai and Addie were at their booth and sure that Adrian wouldn't follow, he said, "So…what's going on with you and your boyfriend?"

"Oh, he is _not_ my boyfriend," Addie scoffed. "I don't even think he likes me that much. He told me he won't get close to me because he doesn't think I'll be able to handle all his sexual needs, which he says are really weird, and from what I hear, that's up your alley. Could you, maybe, give me some tips to get his attention? To show him I'm not as wimpy as he claims I am? Cause I can handle whatever he's got in his head. I just need the opportunity."

"Assuming that his tastes are as twisted as he claims they are, does he have a room where he keeps all his stuff, do you know?" Kai questioned. "All his toys?"

"Yeah, he showed me the box before," Addie nodded. "I know he has whips and stuff."

"Good, good," Kai nodded. "Do you remember where they are and could you get to them if you had to?"

"Sure," Addie nodded. "Why?"

"Cause I'm thinking that maybe you could set up a surprise for him," Kai told her. "Let him have a little fun with you. Would you be okay with that?"

"Of course!" Addie said impatiently. "Isn't that the whole point of this?"

"Well, yeah," Kai nodded, "I suppose it is. Now, as for what you'll do…if he has chains, a stool, and a whip, here's what you could do…" He wrote it down on a napkin and handed it to her. She read it over and nodded. "I think I could do that. It would really be a surprise for him. I think it would kill him!"

"You want me to tone it down?" Kai asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Addie shook her head, grinning and putting the napkin in her pocket. "I think this will do just fine, thanks."

* * *

One night after the club had closed and no one was there except him, Patrick was working on his boxing when his phone rang. It shocked him so much that he got distracted, his punching bag whacked him in the face and he fell to the floor, landing hard on his butt.

Cursing, he picked up his phone and saw who was calling. When he saw it was Addie, he answered it quickly.

"Well look who finally remembered me!" He cried. "Where the hell have you been? Why haven't you talked to me in so long?"

"I'm sorry," Addie apologized. "And I know it's after closing hours so you probably don't want me here, but I've gotten a little tied up in the main gym. Will you come and help me get out so I can go home?"

"Well, yeah, but how stupid do you have to be to get yourself trapped in gym equipment?"

"I'm gonna ignore that, you," Addie told him. "Just get here!"

Hanging up and muttering about lazy women, Patrick left the room and headed down to the main gym where he saw how Addie was "tied up" and nearly fainted. Somehow, she'd gotten into his toy chest and now she was in the middle of the gym with chains around her wrists that held her arms up while wearing a set of skimpy black lace panties. Nearby was a chair with a whip on it.

"What in the hell are you doing?" He asked her when he was finally used to the sight and could approach her. "Are you insane?"

"No, I'm just trying to show you that no matter how out there your sexual needs are, I can handle them," Addie told him. "So go ahead…hurt me."

"No," Patrick shook his head as he reached out to stroke the soft, bare skin of her belly and stroke her under her panties.

"Why…" she paused to gasp. "Why not? Are you scared? Come on, Patrick, don't be such a wuss! I want to prove to you that I can handle this! Give me a chance and don't go soft on me!"

That did it. Her words stung, bringing him back to when he was a boy and his mother wanted him to help her in her drug selling business.

 _"But Mom, I can't!" He cried. "It's not good! You could get in trouble!"_

 _"Well, we don't have any other choice, do we?" His mother asked as she took a swig from a beer bottle. "Your father said he was gonna support us, but left us high and dry, the bastard. So now we're doing what we have to do, and what we have to do is sell drugs. Come on, son. Don't be such a wuss!" She then gave him a good hard slap and dragged him out of the house and on to the street as tears flowed down his face and he begged her to stop…_

With his mother's words ringing in his ears, and Addie smirking at him from where he stood, he let out a grunt, grabbed the whip, and whipped her hard three times. Then he saw the look on her face, the look of pain, and he stopped, throwing the whip on the floor as he watched her bleed.

"I'm sorry," he apologized as he undid the chains and took her in his arms. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," she assured him as he began kissing her face. "I knew what I was getting into."

But it still seemed like she was in terrible pain, no matter what she said. He pushed her hair out of her eyes, placed his hands on either side of her face, and then kissed her lips long and deep before taking her to his bedroom to see what he could do about her wounds.


	10. On The Battlefield

Patrick carried her to his small room at the gym, running as fast as he could without dropping her. When she was settled, he ran his fingers lightly over the two lash marks that were red and angry on her belly, feeling very contrite when the feel of his touch made her wince and groan in pain. That just summed up his interactions with everyone, didn't it? All he ever brought anyone was pain.

"Sorry," he whispered. "I'll go see if we have cream somewhere to fix that up."

"Okay," Addie nodded. "Thank you, Patrick."

He nodded and then went to grab the cream from the first aid kit in the main gym, then brought it back and gently rubbed it on her wounds, shaking his head as he looked at them. "What have I done to you?" He asked, more to himself than Addie. He refused to meet her eyes cause he didn't want to see the hurt in them, the hurt _he_ had caused her.

"You didn't do anything that I didn't want you to," Addie told him in a soft voice. "You warned me that this would happen. You gave me a chance to go away and save myself. But I didn't take it. This isn't your fault. It's mine. Don't start freaking out for no reason. It won't help."

He looked up at her now, and the look in her eyes wasn't one of pain and suffering. It was one of challenge. She was daring him to prove her wrong. To take the guilt on himself, cause she knew he would.

"I shouldn't have let you do what we did," he told her firmly. "I took advantage of the fact that you were giving me permission cause it was a way to get rid of my pain. I was selfish. And to top it all off, it didn't even work."

"As you pointed out, I gave you permission to do this," Addie repeated, her voice full of exasperation. She got his frustration. She did. But why couldn't he understand that not all of this was his fault? Since it had been her choice, he shouldn't take all the blame.

"You were lucky I was able to pull back this time," he said firmly. "But what if I hadn't been able to? What if I had whipped you until you were too badly injured to heal right away? Or you died?"

"You wouldn't do that to me," Addie told him.

"You don't know that," Patrick replied, his eyes narrowing. "You don't know what's in my head. It's a very dark place."

"I've been around dark people my whole life," Addie told him. "I mean, have you _met_ my grandfather? So just telling me that you're dark won't do you any good." She paused and put a hand on his face.  
"You wanna tell me what kind of darkness you got swimming around in there? I could help if you'd let me. Stuff like that's a walk in the park for me so if you want to get rid of me, you're gonna have to try a new tack."

"All right," Patrick nodded, moving her hand and taking the challenge. "I have something to tell you and you probably won't like it, but you have to know: I don't really like you. You're a rebound for me."

" _What?_ " Addie cried. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

"You're an idiot if I have to explain it to you," he spat. "You're a rebound for me, just like I am for you. I've seen you and your boyfriend, the singer. You still have feelings for him, I know it!"

Addie growled and threw up her hands. "You're not the first person who's accused me of still having feelings for Sam, but I don't, not anymore. We're done. We were done when the band broke up. Now he's just helping me with my drug problem. For some fucked up reason, I have feelings for you, Patrick. Why do you think I let you hurt me like this?"

"Cause you're an idiot, that's why," Patrick spat, his tone savage as he paced around the small room without meeting Addie's eyes. Then he suddenly brought his head up, striding over to her and putting his finger in her face. "And listen to yourself! You just admitted that I hurt you. You can't take it back now."

"Sure I said it, but it's not what I meant," Addie replied. "I was speaking metaphorically."

"No, you weren't!" Patrick shook his head. "You have wounds! Don't you 'I was speaking metaphorically' me!"

"So maybe I'm hurt, but it's nothing fatal," Addie told him. "I'll get better."

"Yeah, and you'll have a better chance of that if you stay the hell away from me," Patrick nodded. "Now, let me drive you back home. Please."

"No, I'm not going anywhere until you stop being an idiot and admit your feelings!" Addie told him. "Admit that we have a relationship!"

"We don't!" Patrick cried. "I'm not the sort of guy who _does_ relationships, okay? The…the most I do is find a pretty girl, use her to satisfy my needs, and then move on to someone else. It's better that way." He then groaned as Addie's eyes filled with tears. She wasn't gonna let him off easily, was she?

"So this is all I am to you?" She got out. "Some selfish sexual fling that ends and then you throw me away like _garbage_?" She sniffled and wiped her nose with her hand.

Patrick couldn't help but feel a little bad, so, cursing under his breath because she was making him address his feelings, he ran to her and put his hands on either side of her face. "No, no, don't you get it?" He asked as he looked into her eyes. "You make me feel things that I've never felt for anyone before. That I don't know how to deal with. That I don't _want_ to deal with cause I know from past experience that if I get comfortable with them, something goes wrong. That's how it's always been for me. I'm trying to save you the heartache and misery of being hurt all the ways you possibly can. That's what you do when you love someone. You save them from themselves."

"Yeah, you know, you're right," Addie nodded. "You want to save me one way, and I want to save you another way, so I guess we're at an impasse, aren't we? Don't you think it would be better for us if you let me in? You don't want to be alone and miserable forever, do you?"

"Well, of course I don't," he said and played with her hair. "But it's what's better for everyone," Patrick told her. "How many times do I have to say it before it gets through that thick skull of yours?"

"A million," she said. "Cause I really don't see any reason to listen. I think we could be friends. Why can't you let yourself believe that?"

"Cause I know myself too well," he sighed. "A lot better than you do. Trust me, it'll be better for both of us if we just part ways."

They both stared at each other intensely and then she took his hand. "I'll arm wrestle you for it," she said. "If I win, we keep going. If you win, I'll let you go."

"You will?" Patrick asked in surprise. "That's all it will take for you to drop this?"

"Yes," Addie nodded. "You win and I'll let it go without another word and you can go on and be lonely and miserable for the rest of your life without any more interference from me."

Patrick nodded, grabbing her hand and counting to three, thinking this would be an easy win that would be over in a few seconds. But to his surprise, Addie was surprisingly strong and there were times he thought he would lose cause she was _not_ making it easy on him. But a twinge from her cuts made her wince and loosen her grip so he was able to overpower her and win.

"Well, there you go," she told him. "You won. I guess I have to let you go now."

"I guess you do," he nodded. "But it's for the best, You'll see that. Maybe not now, but some day."

"Oh, could you _be_ anymore trite?" Addie scoffed. "If you're gonna try and make me feel better about this, can't you at least say something original?"

"Well, I'm sorry, but it's the best I can do," Patrick informed her. "Take it or leave it."

"All right, sorry," Addie nodded and let out her breath. "I'll take it." She paused and looked at the clock on his bedside table. "It's kinda late," she remarked. "Do you think…do you think we could use this opportunity to have one last night together and then start our separation tomorrow? Please?"

He was about to protest, but she gave him a quick kiss, and he said, "Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to leave our relationship on a high note, would it?"

"No," Addie shook her head as he took her in his arms and lowered her back down on to the mattress. "No, it wouldn't."

Luckily, she was still only wearing the skimpy underwear he'd found her in, so it didn't take long for him to undress her, slowly sliding his hands down her torso as his lips crashed against hers, then pulling her panties down her legs and throwing them on the floor by the bed. Then he deftly removed her bra so that she lay naked underneath him.

As he gently kissed the whip marks on her belly, she felt him tremble underneath her.

"Have I hurt you?" He asked. "I don't want to hurt you."

"No," she shook her head. "Keep going!"

When she felt his lips on her belly button and then his tongue swirling around it, her hips bucked forward. "That's good," she informed him. "Really good. Keep doing that."

He paused and grinned at her. "Well, actually, I was thinking of moving down a little, but if that's where you'd like me to stay, I'd be more than happy to oblige."

"Nope," Addie shook her head. "If you have a plan, I don't want to wreck it."

Patrick chuckled. "That's what I hoped you would say." He moved downward, parted her legs and pleasured her with his tongue until he could taste her, then paused to get out of bed so he could remove his pants.

"I assume you're pretty aroused right now," Addie grinned and then ran her tongue over her bottom lip. "Need some help?"

"No, thanks," Patrick shook his head. "I'll rip 'em off if I have to." It came close to him having to do that, but after he finally kicked his pants aside and climbed back in bed with her, he grabbed her and crashed his lips against hers, his fingers threading through her dark hair as her legs wrapped around his waist and he buried himself deep inside her over and over again.

"Oh, yes," Addie whispered as she kissed his neck. "More, do it again!"

"Okay," Patrick replied as he kissed down her collarbone and then they both fell back onto the mattress, and he kept obliging her request until they were both sweating and exhausted.

"Wow, you can really last a long time, can't you?" He asked as he kissed her hand.

"Yeah, congratulations for being able to keep up," Addie nodded. Then she yawned and snuggled against him. "I'm so tired," she whispered. "I think I need to go to sleep now."

"That's not a surprise," Patrick replied as he kissed her hair and pulled the blankets over them. When she was asleep, he thought about getting up to turn the lights off, but since this was their last night together, he didn't want to leave her when he didn't need to.

Unlike her, he didn't fall asleep right away. He used the time to run his fingers through her hair and over her body, then he took her in his arms and held her close to his heart and then, at last, with her soft hair brushing his chest and the sound of her steady breathing in his ears, he was finally able to close his eyes and go to sleep.

* * *

The following morning, it was Addie who woke up first, to the sound of Patrick having another nightmare. Despite her impulse to wake him cause he sounded like he was suffering so much, she let him ramble on this time, and eventually it became clear to her what was the stuff of his nightmares: "Mom, stop! Don't!" He made a sound like the crack of a whip and then cried out, nearly in tears. She put her hands on his arms and then gently kissed his forehead, whispering, "It's okay, Patrick. You're safe." It didn't wake him, but at least it made him calm. Then she got out of bed, put on her underwear and went to look for her clothes (which thankfully, Patrick had brought to his room with him last night), dressed, then after whispering a goodbye to him, left his room, shut the door behind her, and didn't look back. She'd promised him that she was gonna let him go, and she wouldn't break her word now, even though, after seeing his distress, every fiber of her being was shouting at her to.

* * *

After his encounter with Lilith, Caleb decided that his brother had been right, that his gym was not the place for him. So he decided to try the place down the street. He was all ready to go when he looked under his bed for his bag and swore. His workout bag was gone, but fortunately (or unfortunately) he knew exactly where it was: at Patrick's gym. He must've left it there when he was in a hurry to run away from that brunette who was determined to be his stalker. Knowing that he had no other choice but to go back to that place if he wanted his bag, he grabbed his coat and a thing of pepper spray that he snatched out of his sister Samantha's old bedroom, hopped on his bike, and made his way back to the gym.

* * *

He knew that he'd left his bag in the men's locker room, so he headed straight there, hoping he could get in and out without running into anyone. He checked every locker and found nothing. When he'd shut the last locker door, he swore to himself. This was inconvenient. But then he froze as he heard the voice behind him.

"I hoped you'd be coming back," Lilith told him.

He turned and said, "What do you want? I'm not really in the mood to talk."

"Neither am I, but you already knew that," she replied, sashaying toward him.

"You know you're in the _men's_ locker room, right?" Caleb asked, although since she was clearly a lunatic, signs probably didn't matter to her.

"I don't care," she smiled and shook her head, grabbing his chin so that he had to look her in the eye. "I have your bag. " she told him. "If you want it, you'll have to come home with me." She smiled. "But I don't have to tell you that. Your bag wasn't the only reason you came back. You left your bag because you wanted an excuse to see me again right?"

"Yeah," Caleb scoffed. "That's it. Now, where did you say my bag was, and is there any way at all I can get it without having to go somewhere with you?"

"No," Lilith smiled. "You'll have to come with me."

"Well," Caleb sighed heavily. "Let's get this over with, then."

She grinned and gestured for him to go ahead of her as they headed to her car, and she gave him a spank as he got into the passenger seat of her red Coupe De Ville, and then got in the driver's seat. "You can sit up here with me, you know," she offered as she turned the car on. "I won't bite."

"No, but you spank," Caleb pointed out. "And when you touch me, your skin is all cold and it feels creepy. Like you're a reptile or something."

"I've been called worse," she remarked and then they drive to her house in silence and when they parked in the driveway, he leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

"Just tell me where the bag is and I'll go in and get it myself."

"Oh, what fun would that be?" She asked. "And I have to say, I like the way your breath feels on my ear."

Damn, he said to himself. I just made it worse.

Sighing, he got out of the car and followed her into the house where he was met by a man with dark hair, pale skin, and angry eyes.

"Who's this, Lilith?" He asked the woman.

"Oh, no one who would concern you, Eric," Lilith replied. "You just keep mooning over an infant and let me have my fun, okay?"

Eric reached out to Caleb and pulled him out of Lilith's grip. "But he's _human_! Lilith, you can do better than that."

"Hey!" Caleb yelled, feeling very offended. "What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean, pal?"

"Eric is feeling very threatened right now," Lilith told him. "He thinks you're gonna take his toy away."

"Oh, no, I'm not," Caleb assured Eric quickly and pushed Lilith into his arms. "I just came for my gym bag that she stole to get me to come over here. I really don't like her at all. You can have her. And may I add, good luck."

He then strode off before an irritated Lilith had a chance to say another word and after a little bit of looking, he found his bag, bade Lilith and Eric farewell, and took Lilith's car to the gym to get his bike after Eric threw him the keys.

* * *

"Here, this might help you sleep," Kai said as he brought Victoria some warm milk, then climbed in bed next to her and put a hand on her belly that was just beginning to show.

"Thanks, but I don't know about that," Victoria smiled as she took the cup and drank it. "We have an active little person in here and they might not get the message."

"Well, just wait a few months more and you can yell at them in person for it," Kai told her and kissed her.

"It's a pain and I'm sorry if I've been a pain about wanting you to stay so close to home," Victoria apologized. "I'm glad you went out with Adrian the other day. Showed me I could manage better than I thought. And your mother seems to have lost interest for the time being, so that's good."

"Yeah, but once the baby's born, she'll be back," Kai replied darkly. "Maybe I should kill her the next time we see her."

"No, don't!" Victoria cried.

"Why, because it's not moral?" Kai asked.

"No," Victoria shook her head. "If she's alive, she's easier to keep track of. Do you want to repeat the hell that was her time as a ghost? Cause _I_ don't."

Kai sighed. "Well, I guess you have a point," he conceded.

Victoria kissed him then took his face in her hands. "I noticed that you've seemed kind of bored since John disappeared cause you don't have much to do with yourself," she remarked. "Is that right?"

"A little bit," Kai nodded and put his hand back on her belly. "I was thinking of doing a murder or two just to give James something to do with himself cause I doubt he's doing much now. I don't know. What do you think?"

"I admire your desire to find something to do with yourself, but please, don't do anything that will keep you away for a long time," Victoria said. "I'm not having this kid by myself cause you're in jail."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Kai grinned as he put his arms around her. "If there's anyone who could break me out of jail, it's you, right?"

"Yeah," Victoria nodded. "But we really shouldn't though. It's not right."

"Awww!" Kai grinned and played with her hair before nibbling gently on her earlobe. "You're so cute when you're moral." He whispered in her ear. "It makes me want to do bad things to you."

Victoria smiled. "Well, I wouldn't say 'No' to that. Just remember, we have to adjust for the baby."

"How tired are you?" Kai asked.

"Not really," Victoria shook her head. "That milk didn't help. But a workout might." So they got out of bed and went to their play room, where they stripped down, Kai secured Victoria's wrists with manacles that hung from chains above their heads, and once her wrists were secure, he grabbed her around the waist and took her from behind while kissing her neck and rubbing between her legs as well.

"How do you do it?" She gasped. "Damn it, Malachai. Damn it!"

"Are you enjoying yourself?" He whispered.

"Oh, yes," Victoria gasped and shut her eyes as she felt him push her closer and closer to climax. "I am, very much."

"When we get back to bed, if you're still up for it, I want to take you while I look in your eyes," Kai told her. "And it's hard to kiss those beautiful lips if I'm standing behind you."

"Well, what are we standing her for, then?" She asked, gasping as she felt herself come. "Untie me and let's get to back to bed, shall we?"


	11. Phone Tag

After Patrick's second nightmare, even though they were separated, Addie thought she should do something to help him. She went to see his father, but felt a little awkward as she stood outside Malachai and Helene's front door, hoping that it wouldn't be Malachai who answered, cause she wasn't quite prepared to speak to him yet. She breathed a sigh of relief when it was Helene that she saw and when they were sitting down, she said, "I need to talk to Malachai about Patrick. I think he's in some sort of trouble that's a result of his childhood. Maybe his father can help him."

"Maybe," Helene shrugged. "But they didn't part on the best of terms. What's the problem?"

"He's having nightmares about his mother," Addie replied. "Both times I've spent the night with him, I've been awakened by the sound of him tossing and turning and muttering to himself and this time, I heard him say 'Mom' too."

"Well, since all of Malachai's children were born from sperm donation, I don't know how Malachai could help you know about his mother, but you could ask," Helene suggested. Then she paused, a look coming over her face. "Wait a minute…if you've been in bed with Patrick, are you two together? Are you his girlfriend?" She hugged Addie so tight that she wasn't able to respond and then she seemed so happy that Addie felt she couldn't tell her that things were over with Patrick.

"I'm just so happy he finally found someone!" Helene was going on. "I think it will be good for him cause he's always seemed a bit lost to me. Don't you think?"

"Yeah," Addie nodded, smiling as she tried to stay enthusiastic. Helene was so excited that she didn't have the heart to correct her and say she and Patrick were over now. Or at the very least, on some sort of break until she could talk him out of it.

She stood staring at Helene's shining face for a few more awkward minutes and then cleared her throat. "So…Malachai," she got out. "Is he here?"

"Yeah, sorry," Helene nodded. "I was so happy at the thought of Patrick finally having someone that I got distracted."

"It's okay," Addie smiled. "It's nice to have a pleasant conversation with someone. I don't mind."

"Malachai's in the yard," Helene pointed. "You might have to tap him a few times to get his attention, but it shouldn't be too hard to talk to him."

"Thanks," Addie told her. She then went out into the yard where Malachai was tending to a small garden, his shirt soaked with sweat.

"Excuse me!" She called. "Can we talk?"

He turned and said, "Sure, just a minute!" He then stepped away from his plants and wiped his face and hair with a towel the best he could before he went to join her on the patio. "Sorry about how I look," he apologized. "I know I'm a mess."

"Oh, it's fine," Addie shook her head. "I've been around worse, trust me. Now, you might not want to talk about this cause Helene told me that things didn't end well between you and Patrick before he left, but he's having problems and I wondered if you could help me help him."

"You know, I would love to, but based on the way things played out between us before he left, I doubt he'd want my help," Malachai told her. "But I suppose I could try. What do you need from me?"

"Helene told me you might not know anything about this, but…can you tell me about his mother? Do you know anything about her?" Addie asked. "Cause nightmares about her have been troubling his sleep and it's really starting to worry me."

Malachai sighed. "That doesn't surprise me, poor boy. I probably shouldn't have chosen his mother to bear one of the coven members, but I was so desperate at that point to have children that I didn't really care."

Addie's jaw dropped. "Wait a minute. You actually saw Patrick's mother in person? He wasn't just the result of random sperm donation?"

"No," Malachai shook his head. "She and I were in a relationship. I knew she had had problems with drugs and alcohol in the past, but she was managing it all well, so I thought, 'This could work out'. But apparently, it didn't, since he's having nightmares of how things were after I left."

"Why did you leave if you thought his mother wouldn't be a good parent without you?" Addie questioned.

"Oh, I don't know," Malachai sighed. "I was selfish, I guess. Focused more on my goals rather than on my son. I left with he was just a toddler. I figured that way he wouldn't be attached to me and I wouldn't have to feel bad about moving on. At the very least, I should have taken him with me. Patty probably wouldn't have minded at all."

"Yeah," Addie nodded. "From the sound of things, I don't think she would have. But it's not gonna do anyone any good to think about what could have been. If you want to help him now, if you want to make up for what you did, now would be a good time."

"All right," Malachai promised her. "I'll try and do something for him, but like I told you, I don't know how likely it will be that he'll accept my help."

"Thank you for trying at least," Addie smiled. "I really think it'll do him some good."

* * *

Meanwhile, Todd, Caleb, and Percy were sitting in the living room and trying to figure out what to do with themselves.

"I _hate_ not having powers," Percy huffed. "Doesn't give a person a lot to do, does it? Jill's lucky, she has a kid. What are _we_ supposed to do with our time?"

"I bet you could think of something," Caleb said as he sorted through his gym bag. "I need to look for my phone. It's not in my bag, and I could swear I put it there."

Todd chuckled. "You lost your phone? That sucks, man. Maybe it fell out and you dropped it somewhere."

"Maybe," Caleb nodded. "That's a possibility."

"You and I should go out," Todd suggested to his brother. "Get some girls." He called to Jill who was taking advantage of Sophia napping to get some cereal. "If Caleb and I go out tonight, will we have any luck getting girls?"

Jill came out and looked at them, her eyes becoming blank as she stared straight ahead and her cereal bowl fell to the floor. "No," she said in a flat voice. "You will date a fairy, and Caleb, a wicked dark-haired woman has her eye on you."

This made Percy chuckle as he eyed Todd. "Did you hear her? She said you were gonna date a fairy! One of those little things with wings!"

"That's not true, she's making it up," Todd spat.

"No, I'm not!" Jill told him. "Didn't you see me wear my 'I'm having a vision' face?"

"But you can't be cause that would be considered a power…and none of us has powers anymore, remember?" Todd cried. "Just stop lying and go bother someone else. And whatever you're taking at night, drugs or alcohol or whatever, you should really stop."

"I'm not making it up!" Jill repeated. "You'll see. Just wait." She then sighed and used what power she had to clean up her cereal bowl and Todd frowned.

"Hey, that's not fair! How come you have powers and we don't?"

"I'm just lucky I guess," Jill told him with a shrug, watching as Sophia toddled into the room. She was wearing pajamas with unicorns on them and a curious expression. When her uncles noticed her, they stopped talking and watched her as if a wild animal had come among them.

"Hi!" the little girl smiled and waved. She stood studying them and made her way toward Percy, who sucked in his breath and tried to stay still.

"You know, she's still gonna see you even if you don't move," Jill told him. "And she's not gonna bite. Unless you make her mad, of course. And you wouldn't do that, would you, Percy?"

"No," Percy shook his head, wishing that Stephanie was around to back him up as the little girl tried to climb into his lap. "I just don't understand why it's always _me_. I mean, I was the one that Christian possessed to get close to you, and then out of all of us, I'm the one Sophia always wants to play with. Have you noticed that?" He then held Sophia for a few awkward seconds and then Jill took pity on her brother.

"Sophia, sweetie, Uncle Percy doesn't want to play now. Why don't you come play with Mommy instead?"

"No!" Sophia pouted and hugged Percy harder. "I want Uncle Percy!"

Jill tried to pull her off him and that gave them all a front row seat to the little girl's demon face. When she said she didn't want to be moved, she wasn't kidding.

"What the hell is that?" Todd asked, interest shining in his eyes.

Jill sighed. "Just her demon face. Happens when she gets mad or sad or has any other negative emotions. Happens to me too, thank you, Christian." She sighed.

Though Percy was nervous around his niece, Todd was not. Being told he was apparently going to be saddled with a fairy, whether it was true or not, made him feel somewhat less manly, and what better way to prove that that wasn't so then to bond with a dangerous demon child?

"You wanna be with me, Sophia?" He asked, walking over to Percy. "Why don't you come and sit in _my_ lap instead?"

Sophia gave him a long hard look as if she was deciding if he was worthy or not. Finally she decided he was and held out her arms.

"Thank you," Percy said as Todd took Sophia away and he let out a breath. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Todd told him. "You big baby."

"I'm not!" Percy cried. "Did you see her face?"

"Yes, but she doesn't look scary now, does she?" Todd asked as he tickled Sophia and she giggled.

"All right, things good here?" Jill asked. "You mind if I take a shower since Sophia seems to be comfy?"

"Sure, go shower," Todd nodded, "And if you have any more premonitions of me and the fairy, ignore them, okay?"

Jill shrugged. "You can't fight fate, Todd. If you're gonna be with a fairy, you're gonna be with a fairy. Accept it. It's much easier that way."

Percy then looked at Caleb, who was still rifling through his gym bag. "Still no phone?" He asked.

"No," Caleb huffed. "Apparently not. I guess I'll just have to look elsewhere in the house. And there's somewhere else it could be too, but I don't want to think about that."

* * *

By the next day, after thoroughly checking the house, Caleb still hadn't found his phone and it made him very upset.

"What's the problem?" Malachai asked. "It's just a phone. We can get you another one."

"You just don't get it," Caleb told him. "I thought I just lost it, but now I'm beginning to think I was right yesterday: what if _she_ took it?"

"Who?" Malachai asked.

"Lilith," Caleb narrowed his eyes.

Just then the house phone rang. Malachai went to answer it and Caleb winced as he heard Malachai say, "So _you're_ Lilith? Caleb was just talking about you! You have his phone? Sure, bring it right over." He came back into the kitchen, a grin on his face. "It seems like Lilith _does_ have your phone, and she's gonna bring it right over. She sounds like a very nice girl, Caleb."

"She's not," Caleb snapped. "She's evil!"

"Well, we'll see about that when she gets here," Malachai told him. "And be nice to her."

"Fine," Caleb huffed. "But the second you meet her, you'll see why she's such a problem."

* * *

But when Malachai opened the door in response to Lilth's knock, he saw a pretty young woman in a red blouse and denim capri pants with her dark hair back in a ponytail, which showed her dark eyes off. "Hello," He said. "Come in, please."

"Thank you," Lilith told him as she stepped inside and looked around. "What a nice, comfortable home you have here. I like it."

"Thanks," Malachai grinned. "We do too. Why don't you sit down? Can I get you anything?"

"No, don't," Caleb told him. "She can't stay. She probably has just enough time to give me my phone and leave."

"Actually, I don't," Lilith said, keeping her gaze on Malachai. "I really wouldn't mind staying for a drink if you're offering, since you seem so nice. I wouldn't mind getting to know you a little better."

"All right, that's it," Caleb cried as he pulled Lilith to her feet. "You and I need to have a talk."

"Good," Lilith said as he pulled her after him. "Is someone a little jealous that I'm not paying attention to _him_?"

"No, I'm not!" Caleb shook his head. "I just want you to give me my phone and go away!"

"All right, here it is," she said and handed it to him. Then she grabbed something else out of her bag and started taking off her clothes.

"What are you doing?" Caleb asked.

"Just…cooling down," Lilith replied. Under her clothes, she wore plain white panties and a matching bra, but only for a moment. In her fist, she had a red lace bra and panties set which she changed into right in front of his eyes.

"You didn't have to put that on, you know," he told her, swallowing. "You could have stayed naked, if you wanted."

"Well, I only want that if you'll be naked with me," Lilith told him, pushing him to sit on his bed and straddling him. "Otherwise, what fun would that be?"

He gasped then he looked down and he was completely naked. "What in the hell?" He whispered.

"Sorry, did you want to do a little dance for me first?" Lilith asked. "You just seem like the sort of man who doesn't want to waste time? Am I right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Caleb nodded. "The second we do this, then you'll leave, right?"

"Not a very nice way to put it, but yes I will," Lilith nodded. "For now." They kissed for a little bit, slow, lingering ones. Then she moved from his lips to down his neck while running her hands over his bare chest. Then, when he was good and aroused, she got off him let him pull her underneath him and take her in his arms, slipping off her panties and bra and pushing into her over and over.

"You don't waste time, do you?" She asked. "Not that I mind." She gasped. "Oh, that was a good one! Deeper! Deeper!"

Caleb gritted his teeth. The sound of her voice was driving him nuts. Even the best orgasm in the world wasn't worth this. He pushed into her one last time and then quickly pulled out. "All right," he told her. "I'm done. You can leave now. You got what you came for and I got what you came for, so we're even."

"I should have expected it," Lilith sighed. "At least at this point. But things will change, I promise you." She winked. "Especially when you see the pictures I put in your phone. Just something to think about when I'm not here."

She left and when she was gone, Caleb went into his photos and found several of Lilith in provocative poses, naked as the day she was born. He licked his lips as he slowly looked over each one. He still hated her, that was for sure. But he had to admit he was pleased by the pictures. Not that she would ever know, of course. That would only happen over his dead body.


	12. Sophia And Friends

What had happened with Patrick and his mother had been something Malachai hadn't thought about in years. He had really tried not to because it was something he was ashamed of for sure, and that shame was the reason why the subsequent Coven children all came from sperm donations rather than relationships he actually engaged in: so he could do what he needed to do without hurting anyone else. Addie had been the first person he'd told in years. He hadn't even told Helene because he knew that her first husband had left her during one of her pregnancies and he didn't want her to think he'd do the same to her. Because he wouldn't. He really _did_ love her.

He wanted to make restitution to Patrick, but figured that things were too far gone between them for that to happen. So he did the next best thing: one night he told Jill, "When Sophia wakes up tomorrow morning, you can stay in bed. I'll take care of her."

"Really?" Jill asked in amazement. "I thought she terrified you."

"Well, she's not the sort of grandchild I thought I would have, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try and form a bond, now would it?"

"No," Jill shook her head. "That would be nice. And…I think she'd like that." Jill paused. "And thanks for giving her a chance, Dad. I know this whole situation with me and Christian and Sophia has been a bit of an adjustment for everyone, but it really makes me happy that there are people in this house who are willing to show her that she's a little girl worthy of love and not just a demon."

"It's no trouble," Malachai assured her. "Really."

* * *

When it was time to go get Sophia the next morning, Malachai was uncharacteristically nervous. Not that she would try and hurt him, of course, cause she only got vicious when angry and she had no reason to be angry at him. It was just…it had been awhile since he had handled a young child and he didn't want to screw it up.

He opened her door cautiously, expecting to find Sophia in bed. Instead, she was sitting on her bedroom floor playing with some blocks.

"I didn't know you would be up already," he said as he got down on the floor beside her. "What are you playing?"

It took a little while to get her attention away from the tower she was building, but when she saw him, she gave him a hug and handed him a block, pointing to the tower she had made. "Put it there," she instructed in a very serious voice.

"Yes, ma'am," Malachai replied and put the block where she wanted. "How does that look?"

"Good," Sophia nodded and stood up. "Thank you." She reached for his hand. "I'm hungry."

Malachai took it and said, "You know, I am too. We should go and eat something." He led her into the kitchen and had her sit down at the table. "Now, what does your mother make you for breakfast?"

"Cookies," Sophia said immediately.

"I don't think so," Malachai told her. "Are you trying to take advantage of the fact that your mother isn't here to have a lot of sweets?"

"No," Sophia shook her head, her eyes innocent. "I'm not."

"I think you are," Malachai told her. "But we'll compromise, okay? I'll make you a breakfast that's _like_ cookies, but your mother won't get mad at you for eating it."

"Okay," Sophia nodded.

In no time at all, Malachai had whipped up chocolate chip pancakes and he and Sophia were eating two each with the rest on a plate in the middle of the table for everyone else.

"Do I smell pancakes?" Jill asked as she wandered into the kitchen soon after.

"Look, Mommy!" Sophia cried as she held up a pancake. "They have chocolate chips in them!"

"I see that," Jill said as she kissed Sophia's hair. "Did you thank Grandpa Malachai for making them for you?"

"She did," Malachai nodded. "She was very polite. I thought that if I made these, it would distract her from filling herself up with cookies, which I didn't think you would want."

"She tried to get you to give her cookies for breakfast?" Jill asked. "Why am I not surprised? Thank you for not falling for it." She then looked at Sophia. "Why did you try and get your grandpa to give you cookies?"

"I had to try," Sophia replied with a shrug. "He's new."

"I'm not _that_ new," Malachai told her.

"So what do you want to do today?" Jill asked her daughter.

"Can I see Daddy?" Sophia asked hopefully.

Jill sighed. "I know you don't get to see your daddy as often as you would like, but there's a reason for that. It's safer that way."

Sophia pouted as Jill tried to find a way to tell her why she couldn't see Christian that wouldn't result in a major tantrum. Thankfully, someone save the day.

"Sophia," William told her as he grabbed a pancake, "Do you want to come with me to see Aunt Lucy? She could help you make a picture and then we'll put it on the fridge so everyone can see it."

"Okay," Sophia nodded. "I'll see Aunt Lucy."

When Sophia had finished her pancakes and was getting dressed, Jill gave William a hug. "Thanks so much for getting me out of that," she told him. "Explaining why she can't see her dad is one of the hardest conversations I have to have with her."

"I know," William nodded. "That's why I thought you could use some help."

"I know she'll have fun at Lucy's," Jill remarked. "But do you think it will be too much for Lucy to handle?"

"I used to set things on fire," William reminded her. "If Lucy can handle that, I don't think Sophia will be a problem. You don't need to worry about her."

"I thought not, but I always feel I should at least check," Jill told him.

"I know," William put an arm around her. "You're very good about that. So…what are you going to do while we're out?"

"Try and stop myself from doing the same thing Sophia wants to do," Jill replied. "I have better self-control than she does cause I'm older, but sometimes it's hard."

"Is the reason why you stay away from Christian because he killed you?" William inquired.

"A little bit of that," Jill nodded. "But not so much anymore. Now it's that we've decided to stay apart so his father won't get any more ideas to pit one of us against the other or anything like that."

"But isn't his dad gone?" William pointed out. "You could probably get away with seeing him now."

"Maybe," Jill conceded. "But why tempt fate?"

"All right, you do what you must," William told her and gave her a kiss. "I'll take Sophia to Lucy's with me and if there's anything I can do for you, just let me know."

"Thank you," Jill told him and gave him a hug. "You're really a big help. I owe you big time."

"No, don't worry about it," William blushed. "It's no trouble, I promise."

* * *

"Well, look who it is!" Lucy Mikaelson exclaimed as William came in with Sophia. "I wondered when you were gonna bring her to visit."

"Hi!" Sophia said and gave Lucy a hug. She seemed to be making a lot of friends lately and she liked it.

"Do you like finger painting?" Lucy asked her. "I was thinking we could finger paint today."

"Okay!" Sophia nodded. "I like pink!"

So Lucy sat Sophia down at the kitchen table and mixed up a bowl of pink paint, then sat it down next to her. "Now, take your finger, put it in the paint, and then smear the paint all over the paper," Lucy told her. "That's how you finger paint."

"Isn't that a mess?" Sophia asked, knitting her eyebrows.

"Some people might say it is, but it's also art," Lucy told her. "Just don't put your fingers in your mouth if you have paint on them."

"Can I sit in your lap?" Sophia asked her. "I can't reach."

"Sure," Lucy nodded and took Sophia in her lap. "Sorry about that, sweetie."

As they painted, William wandered around Lucy's living room, eying her work. "How long has your style changed?" He asked, pausing by a picture of flowers seeming very similar to Monet's waterlilies, his dark eyes bright. "Your work usually isn't this cheerful."

"Well, since I don't have to drink blood to survive or deal with any dark impulses, happier work has become an option for me," Lucy told him. "I thought I would give it a shot, just for something a little different. Is it terrible? Should I go back to my old style?"

"Of course I don't think it's terrible," William said and kissed her. "I think it's a nice change." He sat down next to them and watched as Sophia's pink-covered fingers slid over the paper in front of her. "Is that supposed to be anything in particular?" He asked.

"I don't know," Sophia shrugged. "I'm just painting."

"Ah," William nodded. "Carry on then."

When the page was full of pink, Lucy put it on another table to dry and decided that it was time for them to have a snack. She made up peanut butter sandwiches, apple slices, and milk and they ate them as the picture dried.

Then William picked Sophia up and walked around with her so she could have a better look at all the paintings that hung in the living room. "Aren't these pretty?" He asked her. "Aunt Lucy did them. Ah, ah, don't touch," he shook his head as Sophia reached out to one of the pictures. "Let's just look at them, okay?"

"Okay," Sophia nodded.

After her first picture dried, she did one in blue, and then Jill called, asking if she wanted to see her grandma.

"You mean go see Daddy?" Sophia asked.

"Maybe," Jill told her. "I don't know if Daddy will be there when we get to the apartment, but he might be."

"All right," Sophia replied. "Let's go!"

After she thanked Lucy for the snack and both her pictures had dried, William took her home and they showed them to Jill.

"How lovely," Jill remarked. "I think Grandma will like seeing those."

"She will?" Sophia asked.

"Of course," Jill nodded. "Why wouldn't she? Do you want to go now, or would you like to wait a bit?"

"I can go now," Sophia said. Then she turned to William. "Thank you for taking me to paint with Aunt Lucy."

"You're welcome," William told her as he tousled her hair. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I think Aunt Lucy did too."

* * *

"Grandma!" Sophia cried when Freya opened the door to the apartment. "Is Daddy here?" She ran inside and began looking under tables and chairs and behind curtains as if Freya were hiding Christian from her intentionally.

"Sophia, why don't you come talk to Grandma first before you go looking for your father?" Jill called.

"Okay," Sophia said and stomped back to her mother. Then she gave Freya a keen glance. "When will you not be fat anymore?" She asked.

"Sophia, that's not polite!" Jill remonstrated. "Don't ask that!"

"It's okay," Freya assured Jill. Then she said to Sophia, "You know, that's something I've wondered myself. Maybe it'll be a few months from now, maybe it won't. Who knows?"

"That's a long time!" Sophia exclaimed, eyes wide.

"I know, tell me about it," Freya agreed as she laid back on the sofa and put a hand on her forehead.

"Are you okay?" Jill asked, standing up. "Do I need to get you something?"

"Just some aspirin or something like that," Freya replied. "I'm getting a little headache."

"All right," Jill nodded. "I'll be back in a jiffy."

When Jill got back with Freya's medicine, she saw that her daughter had dragged a chair over by the front door and was now sitting patiently and staring at it, her little pink-stockinged feet dangling over the floor.

"What's going on here?" She asked Freya.

"She's waiting for Christian to come back," Freya replied with a smile. "It's so sweet."

"Are you expecting him back soon?" Jill asked. "Or will she just be sitting there for a long time?"

"I honestly don't know," Freya replied and pulled out her phone. "But I can find out."

It didn't take long for Christian to answer her call. "Are you okay?" He asked. "I'm with Sam and Leslie, but if you need me to come home, I will."

"No, I'm fine," Freya assured him. "But a certain blonde-haired, pigtailed daughter of yours is at the apartment and wants to see her daddy. She's waiting by the door, so you better get over here."

"All right," Christian replied without hesitation. "Be there soon."

And he was. The doorbell rang and Freya said, "Sophia, why don't you answer it? I think it's your daddy!"

"It is?" Sophia asked, hopping off the chair and smiling as she stood on her tiptoes to reach the doorknob. "No!" She cried dramatically and fell back on her bottom. "I can't get it!"

"Here, let me help," Jill offered. She opened the door and Christian started a little as he saw her.

"Well, look at that," he got out. "I wasn't expecting you."

"You weren't?" Jill asked. "How else would Sophia get here?"

"Good point," Christian nodded. "I didn't think of that." He reached out to hug her, then thought better of it and turned to hug Sophia instead as she jumped into his arms.

"I missed you so much!" She told him. "But Mommy said we could come and see you and I was so happy!"

"I am too," Christian told her and kissed her hair.

"Why don't you show him the pictures you made with Aunt Lucy?" Jill suggested. "I think he might like to see those."

"You made pictures?" Christian asked. "Of course I'd like to see them!"

After heaping on sufficient praise, he asked if he could put one of them on the refrigerator.

Sophia nodded and let him put up the blue one, and the two of them played with Snowflake and Snowball until it was time for Sophia to have her nap.

"But I don't _wanna_ take a nap!" Sophia whined. "I wanna stay here with _Daddy_!"

"She could take her nap in the nursery," Christian offered to Jill. "That way you wouldn't have to drive her all the way home."

"Sure," Jill agreed. "Why not?"

So they set Sophia up in the single bed in the nursery and Christian kissed her forehead and told her, "You have to shut your eyes now."

"But I'm not sleepy," Sophia told him.

So Christian tried another tack. "You wanna be just like Daddy, don't you?" He asked her.

Sophia nodded.

"Well, when your mommy tells _me_ that it's time for me to take a nap, I listen and you should too," he told her as Jill put her hands on her hips and gave him a look.

"Mommy makes you take naps?" Sophia asked.

"Oh, yes," Christian said seriously. "All the time."

"All right," Sophia nodded, settling down and shutting her eyes as her father turned off the light. When he'd shut the door behind him and he and Jill were standing out in the hallway, Jill spoke.

"That wasn't very subtle, you know."

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Christian asked. "And it's not like she knew what I actually meant."

"I don't know, she's surprisingly astute," Jill asked. "Between her natural intelligence and the fact that the majority of the people she lives with are my brothers, she'll probably figure out the facts of life sooner rather than later. I would prefer later."

"Oh, I know you would," Christian sighed. "You probably don't want me to say this, but…I really miss you, you know?"

"I do," Jill nodded. "Cause sometimes…sometimes I miss you too. But what we're doing, it's a good thing. Good for everyone."

"Yeah," Christian nodded. "Exactly." Then, to his surprise, after a few minutes of awkward silence, Jill grabbed him, pushed him against the wall, and kissed him deeply, her fingers running through his hair and her other hand on his bottom.

When she pulled away, he looked at her in shock. "What was that?"

"What do you mean?" Jill asked. "I have needs too, you know."

"Yeah, I do," Christian nodded. "You wanna stay and…you know? I'm sure Mom wouldn't mind."

"Oh, I'm sure I'll be here to have a little fun with you sometime," Jill told him. "Probably when you least expect it."

"Can I get you some coffee or something at least?" Christian tried again.

"All right," Jill conceded. "But we'll have it here, at the kitchen table, under the watchful eye of your mother."

"Good," Christian grinned. "That's fine with me. It's better than nothing at all."


	13. An Honest Man

"Malachai!" Victoria exclaimed in surprise when she found him on her and Kai's doorstep. "Hi, come in!"

"Thank you," Malachai told her. "Is my nephew here?"

"Yes," Victoria nodded. "With John being out of reach, he doesn't have to _be_ anywhere else and he doesn't really like going anywhere else. Can I…can I get you anything? Drink, food, something…?"

"Oh, no thank you," Malachai put a hand up and shook his head. "I couldn't ask a pregnant woman to get things for me. If I want something I can get it myself, but you're sweet to ask."

Victoria smiled. "I thought Kai would tell you. At least by now, anyway."

"You look lovely," Malachai praised.

"Thanks," Victoria grinned. "It's nice to hear because more often than not, I feel like I've been run over by a truck."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Malachai told her.

"It's okay," Victoria shrugged. "It's not your fault." At that point, Kai came in and she smiled. "It's his fault."

"What's my fault?" Kai asked.

"My feeling like I've been run over by a truck every day," Victoria replied, grinning as she patted the empty sofa cushion beside her. "I'm kidding, of course."

"Oh, I know," Kai nodded, then turned his attention to his uncle. "It's about time you came and visited us. I was beginning to think that you forgot we existed."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Malachai apologized.

"Well, the important thing is that you're here now," Victoria told him. "Is it just to visit, or…?"

"I actually need some advice, too," Malachai told her. "I'm in kind of a delicate situation and I don't exactly know how to handle it on my own."

"Oh, what is it?" Kai asked jokingly. "Did you have a fling on accident and need to find a way to tell Helene so she doesn't kill you?"

"Well…" Now Malachai looked _really_ uncomfortable. "Yes and no. Sort of. Maybe."

"You can tell us what happened," Victoria encouraged. "We won't judge or make fun."

"Yeah," Kai agreed, rubbing his hands and grinning. "Come on, Uncle Malachai. What did you do?"

"Well, you know about my plans for the coven, right?" Malachai told them. Then he shook his head and pushed some hair out of his eyes. "What am I saying, of course you do! Well, my initial idea of how to get it to happen was that the children would come from relationships I was already in. I wasn't really into anything long-term at that point, so I thought it would be easy. The first woman to bear a child that would go to the coven was my girlfriend Patty. She was nice when she was sober but she did have a drug and alcohol problem. Then she got pregnant and gave birth to my son Patrick and I…I left after that."

Victoria's jaw dropped. "You left a woman who had a drug and alcohol problem with a kid? Did it ever cross your mind that that was a _bad_ idea?"

"You told me you wouldn't judge!" Malachai cried.

"Well, that's before I knew what you did!" Victoria cried and put a hand on her belly. Then she told Kai, "I hope you know that if you did that to me, I would kill you. Or hunt you down and kill you, depending on how far away you were."

"You wouldn't need to because I wouldn't leave in the first place," Kai said, taking her hand. "You know that."

"But _anyway_ ," Malacha interrupted, "that's what happened, I know it's wrong, and that's why every other child after Patrick was conceived from the sperm bank: so I could have my coven children, but not have to worry about the guilt of ditching them."

"And you never saw Patty or your son again after that?" Victoria asked. "Not even once?"

"I sent money," Malachai told her. "But who knows what she used it for? Probably to buy more drugs."

"I'm guessing you haven't told Helene about this, have you?" Kai asked.

"Of course not," Victoria spat. "He's probably too much of a coward."

"Hey!" Malachai told her. "That was the whole reason for my coming over here: I wanted some advice about the best way to say something about it cause she should know, no matter how much trouble I'll be in once it's out in the open." He narrowed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Victoria, but maybe you should leave, since you're not helping much."

"Oh, believe me, I would love to," Victoria told him. "There are many other things I'd rather do than hear a story about how you abandoned your pregnant girlfriend."

"In his defense, he didn't abandon Helene and William when he found out that William would catch on fire whenever he gets mad," Kai reminded her. "That's something, right?"

Victoria paused. "Well, I suppose it shows that he learned his lesson, but I'm not gonna give him a cookie for it." She strode off and Malachai and Kai looked at one another in silence.

"I'm glad that happened," Malachai said once he was sure she was out of earshot. "That'll prepare me for Helene having a similar reaction, don't you think? Cause her first husband left her when she was pregnant with one of their kids, didn't he? Once I tell her, she'll probably think of me the same way."

"Maybe, but look at the bright sides here," Kai said. "One, you didn't leave Helene, you left the other woman, and when Helene was pregnant and there were difficulties, you stayed. And two, yes, Adrian did leave her when she was pregnant, but they managed to make up after everything, get back together, and have one more kid. So even if she does get mad at you about this, I think the odds are in your favor that it won't last forever."

"I know, but getting through the anger is gonna be hard," Malachai pointed out. "I'm not looking forward to that."

"Well, if Helene gets so pissed she kicks you out, you can always come and stay with us," Kai told him.

"Would you have the room if I needed to?" Malachai asked.

"Now we do," Kai nodded. "All the coven kids who were living here said they wanted to get rooms of their own once they found out Victoria was pregnant. So we have space. Don't worry about that."

"Thank you," Malachai told him. "Victoria probably won't want me here, but it's nice you do."

"Oh, she'll be okay with it," Kai assured him. "By tomorrow, or maybe even later today, she'll be so wrapped up in whatever pregnancy miseries she's got that what you did won't even matter."

"I hope so," Malachai sighed. "Now for what I actually came over here for: how do you think I should tell Helene? Flowers and a nice dinner to soften the blow? Or should I just blurt it out and get it over with?"

"Well, if you do all that nice stuff first, you'll just be ruining what started out as a nice moment, right?" Kai asked. "So I would just blurt and go from there. I think it would be easier that way."

"Yeah," Malachai nodded. "I guess you're right. Can I have a drink?"

"Sure," Kai nodded and got up. "I'm guessing you're gonna need it."

* * *

"All right," Malachai got out after putting his dinner fork down. "I'm tired. I think I'll go to bed now."

Helene peered at the small wall clock over his head. "How can you want to go to bed now? It's only seven-thirty! I thought we were gonna watch that recording of Swan Lake that's been there since last week!"

"I-I had a long day and I'm tired," Malachai stuttered as he kissed her cheek. "You understand, right?"

"No!" Helene shook her head, putting a hand on his arm. "You've been acting weird ever since you got back from Kai's. You've been avoiding me. Are you okay?"

Malachai stared at her and then slowly shook his head. "No," he told her. "No, I'm not. There's something I need to tell you. You might not like it, and it might lead you to kick me out of the house, but you need to hear it anyway."

"Oh," Helene looked at her feet. "Okay. Let's…let's get this over with."

They got to their bedroom and Malachai shut the door, then sat by Helene on the bed, taking her hand. "Helene, I remember one of the first things you told me when we got involved was about Adrian and how he left you when you were pregnant. And how terrible that was."

"Yeah," Helene nodded. "It was bad. And honestly, when we found out about William and his fire issues, I thought you were gonna leave too. Thank you for not doing that. It really made me see that you were a good man." She smiled.

"Well, about that…that's what I wanted to confess about," Malachai told her.

"What do you mean?" Helene cried. "Were you thinking of leaving when you found out about William's powers?"

"No, it's not about you or William," Malachai shook his head. "I…it's about something that happened way before I ever met you."

"Oh," Helene breathed a sigh of relief. "All right, go on…"

"When I first came up with my idea for the coven, I was dating a woman named Patty," Malachai got out. "I decided that she would be the mother of the first coven child. I didn't tell her anything about it, and after she got pregnant with the child, who would eventually become Patrick, I left to find the woman who would make the next coven baby, and the plan was that that pattern would continue until I knew that all thirteen were in existence."

"That's very cold," Helene murmured. "It seems so unlike you."

"Well, I'm proud to say I've grown up a bit since then," Malachai replied. "After I left Patty, I felt so guilty that I decided that the rest of the kids would come from mothers I had no emotional attachment to. Cause the plan wouldn't allow me to make time for everyone. That's why I decided to do the whole sperm bank thing instead. I know it's callous, I know it's cowardly, and I know Patrick will probably never forgive me and I don't blame him, but…I thought you should know." He let out a breath. "Okay, now you talk. Tell me I'm no better than Adrian. Cause that's what you feel, right?"

"No, that's how you want me to feel," Helene replied. "What you did to Patty wasn't good, and I feel for her, but…you didn't leave me and that's good. You've grown. That's good. You should keep trying to make things right with Patrick, though, even if he isn't exactly receptive."

"Yeah," Malachai nodded. "Cause it's kind of a 'damned if I do, damned if I don't,' right? He might not be receptive to any attempt I make to make things up, but if I didn't try at all, he'd probably get even _more_ mad cause it would seem like I still don't care at all."

"Perhaps," Helene nodded. "It was hard for you to tell me this, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Malachai nodded. "Cause I thought that once I did, you'd see me as another Adrian and I don't want that."

"Well, that's not gonna happen," Helene told him. "I'm over what happened between me and Adrian now. It's not raw enough that I'd turn around and punish you for the same thing. Now, if this had happened several years ago, maybe I would…but not now. And since you seem to have learned your lesson and have a plan about how to fix this, I don't think I need to get involved. You're an adult, you can fix your own mistakes. You don't need me to mind you like a child." She paused. "Or at least I hope you don't."

"No, I think I can figure things out for myself," Malachai assured her. "Now that we have that out of the way…would you like to watch that recording of Swan Lake?"

"Sure," Helene nodded. "Why not? I'll go make the popcorn."

* * *

Her talk with Malachai about when Adrian had left her made Helene remember that she needed to make a visit to the child who had been in the middle of that whole situation and give her an update on what was going on, since she was usually kept in the dark.

Helene started the car and was backing down the driveway when she remembered how, more often than not, Felicity and Lucien would be found in a position not suitable for company if not warned ahead of time that they might be having some, so she stopped the car, pulled out her phone and dialed her younger daughter's number.

"Hello?" Greeted Felicity's voice after a couple of rings. "Mom, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," Helene replied. "I know it's probably been awhile since you heard anything on the Phoenix front and I thought I would stop by and give you an update. Are you in a fit state to receive company?"

"Well, Lucien's taken to walking around the house in his underwear lately, so I'll tell him to put on some pants and you can come right over," Felicity told her. "As for the rest of it, I would be interested to know why the rest of my powers are gone."

"I'll tell you what I can once I reach your house," Helene promised. "Just give me a few minutes."

"So," Lucien remarked as he let Helene in the house. He'd done what Felicity had asked and put on jeans and a red shirt. "Kitten tells me that you know why we're human. Is that right?"

"Well, I have some idea," Helene said. "But I don't know for sure."

"Well, what are your ideas?" Lucien wanted to know. "And tell me…Klausy is human too, right?" He grinned. "Is he miserable? Does he hate it?"

"It's an adjustment for him for sure, just like it is for all of us," Helene said. "But he was human once too. It's not like it's something he's never experienced before."

"Ah, yes, but…he loves the power," Lucien reminded her. "So any situation where he has none is going to be unpleasant for him for sure."

"But the main reason why he felt he needed the power was because he didn't feel loved or valued and having people fear him because of his power was where his sense of self-worth came from," Helene countered. "But now he has Amy and the girls and I'm sure they don't make him feel like his life is worth something."

"I suppose," Lucien nodded. "But I still think it would be funny to see him deal with human stuff."

"Everything okay in here?" Felicity called, her voice coming from a nearby bedroom, before Helene could reply. "Lucien, are you starting a fight with my mother?"

"No, it's fine," Helene told her. "We're just having a spirited debate about your grandfather, that's all."

"You mean Grandpa Klaus?" Felicity clarified.

"Yeah," Helene nodded. "Has your dad talked to him lately? How's he handling the no-power situation?"

"Better than you would think," Felicity replied. "Grandma Amy and Grandma Selina are really helping him out."

"Is Selina really?" Helene asked in surprise. "I wasn't sure your uncle Elijah would allow that." She grinned. "Not that Selina would let that stop her."

"No, she _is_ helping," Felicity nodded. "And it's done Grandpa a lot of good, I think. Now, as for why we don't have powers…what do you know about that?"

"Well, we're not sure of anything, but what we heard from Mikael's wife Gwen, of all people, was that Freya went with Christian to get something from John's apartment after she moved out and he was gone. The place was completely destroyed. He left and he must've used some spell to take away everyone's powers as a last hurrah."

"Now I can see why he would do that for witches and warlocks, but why vampires?" Felicity questioned. "And werewolves?"

"Well, it's all because he has an issue with his sisters, I think," Helene told her. "See, his father was a magic bigwig, you know that, right?"

"Yeah," Felicity nodded. "I think."

"He was," Helene said. "And at the point his children were growing up, the magical world was patriarchal and John was his only son. So John knew growing up that he would rule, but then when it came time, his father said he was too wimpy to follow in his footsteps and told his sisters that whichever one of them had the most powerful and impressive display of magic would succeed him."

Lucien scoffed when he heard this. "That must've been terrible for John."

"Oh, it was," Helene nodded. "Especially when two of his sisters ended up creating werewolves and vampires. That's why he took away their powers too: he wanted to make it clear that what his sisters did didn't matter anymore because it was his turn."

"What a jerk," Lucien remarked. "Issues of inferiority and he takes them all out on us."

"I don't know," Felicity countered and shrugged. "I feel for the guy. It's not pleasant to be left out of your family for things that are beyond your control while you watch your siblings get all the attention." She looked at Helene apologetically. "Not that you and Dad were ever as bad as John's parents."

"Well, we weren't exactly good, either," Helene sighed. "Thanks for not letting that make you crazy and take it out on other people."

"I mean, I _did_ use my powers to torture Amy's parents cause they were being nasty to her about being with Grandpa, but that was all," Felicity got out. "I think I controlled myself pretty well, all things considering."

"Yeah," Helene agreed. "I think you did."

"So how's your mom?" Felicity asked. "How's she handling this stuff?"

"It's been hard cause there essentially _is_ no point to having a council, at least for the time being," Helene replied. "But thanks to Daddy, she's been coping better. She's been finding things to do with herself."

"Good," Felicity nodded. "Since you're here, you wanna stay for lunch?"

"Sure," Helene nodded and stood up. "I would love to."

"Good," Lucien smiled and took her arm. "You can sit right next to me."

"And I'll sit on your other side," Felicity said, giving him a look. "I think that would be best."

Lucien grinned. "Jealous, Kitten?"

"No, I'm protecting my mother," Felicity shot back as they headed to the kitchen to decide what to eat.


	14. Crash and Burn

Since she and Patrick had decided to separate, it took a little bit of time for Addie to go back to the gym again and when she finally did, she told herself that she was just gonna get on the bike for a bit, maybe lift a few weights, and then leave. Hopefully, she'd accomplish that in such a short time that she wouldn't run into Patrick.

But what she didn't know that whenever she came in, he had an eye on her, even if it wasn't him specifically, and finally, one day, he told her as she sat at the snack bar indulging in a big bowl of nachos slathered in cheese and salsa, "I'm proud of you, Addie. You've just come to work out. You haven't bought anything." He looked down at her plate. "Well, anything truly bad for you."

"I told you I wouldn't," Addie replied. "I'm gonna finish what I have at home now and then I'm done. It's going to be the end of that."

"You know it'll be harder than you think," Patrick warned. "You'll probably get sick. You might even have to go to the hospital. Are you ready?"

"Yes," Addie nodded. "Thanks for the warning, but I always knew that would be an issue. I'm ready for it, though."

"Well, good luck," Patrick told her and put a warm hand on her bare shoulder.

"Thank you," Addie nodded. "And if…if something happens, will you come and see me?" Addie asked, taking his hand. Her eyes were wide and she sounded a bit frightened, as if the reality of what she was about to do was finally hitting her.

"Of course," Patrick nodded. "I was part of this whole mess for you and I'm not gonna give up on you now."

"Oh, thanks!" Addie let out a relieved breath, and to his surprise, she hugged him tight. Then she let him go and apologized. "Sorry," she said. "I probably shouldn't have done that."

"Why not?" Patrick asked. "I don't mind."

"Good," Addie nodded and held out a cheese drenched chip. "Nacho?"

"Sure," Patrick nodded and sat down next to her. "Don't mind if I do."

* * *

True to what she told Patrick, Addie finished what was left of her stash and then made a concerted effort to stay away from drugs after that. But just like Patrick had told her (and as she'd suspected) it wasn't easy. It was hell, which started with her getting an infection in one of her injection sites, which led to a bad fever and a midnight run to a nearby clinic.

"Are those from the drugs you've been taking?" Roxie asked Addie lay on her stomach on the exam table while she held a washcloth against her forehead and the doctor looked her over.

"Yes," Addie replied in a muffled voice. Then she looked up. "How did you know about that?"

"I saw the needles in the trash in your room," Roxie told her. "And I heard you and Sam talking about it one day."

"You knew?" Addie asked. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well, what would it have helped?" Roxie questioned. "And besides, we knew you'd have enough trouble from taking them and we didn't want to make it worse. We knew it would come to this someday and we knew you'd need us."

"Thanks for not…for not judging me," Addie said as both her parents looked at her. "I know this was a stupid mistake. I know I fucked up big time. But when I'm, you know, like I normally am, nothing comes from it, you know? I just take what I take, get the high or the low, and move on. I don't feel the effects like this."

"And it doesn't look like you've been sleeping much either," Vince remarked. "How's that going?"

"It's shit too," Addie replied. "The cocaine tells me to sleep, but the heroin keeps me awake, so I don't know what the hell I'm doing."

"Mostly you're just going downstairs at night and sneaking food from the refrigerator, aren't you?" Vince asked.

"Yeah," Addie nodded. "That."

"Anything else?" Vince asked.

"Just…some vomiting," Addie told him. "Sometimes."

"How often?" Vince asked. "Once a night? Twice a night?"

"Pretty much as soon as I eat, I throw it right back up again," Addie sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "And…and the other night, I even sneaked into your bathroom while you were sleeping to look for painkillers."

"But you know we don't have any," Roxie told her."

"I know, but I _needed_ them!" Addie cried. "My brain said that if I took them, I would stop feeling weird! My god, I should never have mixed a downer and an upper, should I?" She then lapsed into silence as Roxie noticed her hand twitching.

"We need to get her to the hospital," she told Vince. "She can't go on like this."

He nodded. "Once we get her the medicine for the infection, we're taking her somewhere they can help her."

"What a good idea," the doctor told them and handed them a prescription for her pills. "And good luck, young lady."

When Vince and Roxie got her to the car, she threw up on the pavement as Roxie was opening the car door and then after Vince boosted Addie in the backseat, she fell asleep, sweat pouring down her brow from the fever, even though she'd taken some medicine for it.

"That's probably the first sleep she's gotten in a while," Roxie remarked. "Who knows how long it will last?"

"Yeah, I know," Vince nodded. They drove her to the hospital and explained what was going on. She was then rushed to a room and hooked up to IVs to replenish her fluids and did what they could to lower her fever and get her to sleep so that she would be well enough to start rehab as soon as possible.

* * *

"How are you feeling, you crazy kid?" Patrick asked as he came into Addie's room at hospital when she was well enough to see people. He had a bouquet of daisies in hand and when he reached her bed, he kissed her forehead gently.

"Not as bad as I did before," Addie croaked, her eyes half open. "How did you know I was here?"

"Your mom called," Patrick replied. "So they know, don't they? What you've been doing?"

Addie nodded. "Apparently, they've suspected for a while but wanted to give me a chance to work it out for myself before they did anything."

"That's really nice of them," Patrick told her. "How long until they let you go?"

"Oh, a long time," Addie replied. "They're getting fluids and stuff in me and letting me rest up until my fever is gone and I can sleep and keep food down, and then I'm going to rehab to dry out for a bit."

"Sorry about that," Patrick sucked in his breath.

"It's not _entirely_ your fault," Addie reminded him. "I started this bad habit _long_ before I met you."

"I know," he nodded. "But it's not like I made it better, so I'm sorry."

"Thank you," Addie smiled. "I accept your apology."

"Patrick, I'm so glad you made it!" Roxie exclaimed as she and Vince came in at the start of visiting hours and found Patrick arranging the daisies in a vase. "Thank you so much for coming. I thought you'd want to know what was going on."

"I did, thank you," Patrick nodded. "Thanks for the call."

"Now, how do you two know each other again?" Vince questioned.

"He comes into the bar sometimes," Roxie told him.

"And he works at the gym I go to," Addie added.

"Ah," Vince nodded. "All right, I wondered." Then he looked at his daughter. "You seem better," he remarked. "How are you feeling?"

"Not great, but better," Addie told him. "Do you think I'll eve stop feeling like crap?"

"Yes, of course you will," Roxie nodded. "We'll get through this and hopefully it will teach you a thing or two about doing drugs."

"Oh, it has, trust me," Addie assured her. They all stayed and talked for a bit until Sam came in with Leslie and then Patrick excused himself.

"That's the guy from the gym!" Sam cried, eying Addie. "The one who helped you get the drugs! What kind of a jerk takes advantage of a person that's working on getting better?"

"Calm down," Leslie told him and then gave Addie a gentle hug. "We don't know that's what he was here for."

"Why else, though?" Sam asked. "It's not like he actually cares."

"He does, Sam," Roxie said. "He brought her those flowers and when I called him to tell him that she was in the hospital, he came right away and was so sweet."

"See?" Leslie told him. "I told you he wasn't that bad. Good thing he left before you could cause more trouble than he deserved."

Sam then sat down next to Addie's bed, took her hand, and apologized. "Sorry about that," he said. "But I worry about you, you know? I don't like people taking advantage."

"I know you don't," Addie replied. "Thanks for caring. Thanks for being there for me when I didn't feel I could tell anyone else about this."

"You're welcome," Sam nodded. "And I really hope you get better soon."

"Yeah," Addie grinned. "You and me both, Sam. You and me both."

* * *

"Damn it," Caleb huffed as he woke up from another sexy dream about Lilith. What they'd done was a mistake, that was for sure. He'd only done it to get her off his back, but apparently, that wasn't enough. He got out of bed, wiped the sweat from his brow, picked his phone up off the bedside table and locked himself in the nearby bathroom, going through the pictures she'd given him while trying to get rid of the boner that the dream had brought on.

Then, just after he climaxed, his phone rang and he groaned, the mood broken. "Oh, what the hell do you want?" He snapped at Lilith. "Do you know what time it is? How did you get my number?"

"I memorized it from when I stole your phone," Lilith reminded him. "You don't think I just stared at it the whole time, do you?" She paused. "So…are you enjoying my pictures?"

"I could be," Caleb said. "I don't have to tell you."

"So touchy," Lilith giggled. "Maybe taking a little time to give them a look would do you some good."

"You know, you _are_ a lot more tolerable when your mouth isn't moving," Caleb remarked. "Now, don't you have some sleeping to do?"

"No, can't sleep," Lilith informed him. "Talk to me, please. I like the sound of your voice."

"Seriously?" Caleb asked, feeling a little taken aback.

"Yeah," Lilith nodded. "Just talk to me. Please. You've been very mean to me by making love to me and then not saying a word about it after so long, but if you'll just talk me to sleep, I think I can forgive you."

"Wouldn't it just be easier for me to come over and knock you out with a hammer?" Patrick offered. "Cause I would be more than happy to."

"No, I'm not joking this time," Lilith told him firmly. "Please talk to me." She sighed. "It would really make me happy."

"Why should I do something to make you happy?" Caleb questioned. "Especially when all you've done is make me miserable?"

"You're right, I'm sorry," Lilith apologized. "I didn't mean to disturb your sleep. Goodnight." She hung up and then Caleb was left feeling very guilty. He quickly called her back and she answered right away.

"What kept you?" She asked brightly.

"What do you want me to talk about?" He asked,

"I don't know," Lilith replied. "Just talk. Tell me about you, recite poetry, I don't care."

He didn't feel like telling her anything personal at this early hour of the morning and his brain was still a little fuzzy from waking up so suddenly. So he began singing the lullaby he remembered his mother singing to him when he was a child in an off-key voice, over and over again, until Lilith told him she was tired. "Thank you for that," she said, and then he heard her yawn.

"You're welcome," Caleb replied gruffly. "Sorry my voice isn't the best."

"I don't mind," Lilith assured him. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Caleb told her, ending the call and turning his phone off in case she got it in her head to call again, and then heading back to his bed and blissful, dreamless sleep.


	15. On The Road To Recovery

"I bet it's real shocking seeing me like this," Addie remarked to Klaus and Selina, who were sitting on either side of her bed. She'd gotten through rehab and when the doctors were convinced she was ready to go, they put her in her parents' care and sent her home. "Are you ashamed?"

"Oh, please," Selina scoffed. "You wouldn't believe some of the stuff I got into, especially in the seventies. If I wouldn't have been a vampire at the time, it probably would have killed me. Your uncle would not have been happy if he knew, so it's a good thing he wasn't around."

"Yes, and besides, you were a rock singer, Addison," Klaus added. "Things like this are to be expected."

"But at the same time, it's good that you've learned from your mistake," Selina added.

Just then the door to the bedroom opened and Roxie announced, "Okay, I think Addie's had enough visiting for one day. Let's let her rest now."

Klaus chuckled when heard this. "Roxanne, is that your subtle way of saying that you're bored talking to Amy and Elijah and you want us to take them home?"

"Well, no," Roxie shook her head. "Or…maybe."

"Bye, sweetie," Selina said as she hugged Addie one more time. "Take care of yourself. Rest up."

"Oh, believe me I will," Addie nodded. "It's a nice change to be able to, that's for sure."

* * *

But despite her social mood that day, when nighttime came, so did her bad feelings. She loved her parents, there was no doubt about that. But she couldn't deny that there was someone besides them that she would rather be around. When she realized this, and the fact that during his one visit to her while she'd been sick, he'd acted like her brother or her uncle, she burst into tears, but cried them against her pillow, hoping that her mother wouldn't hear.

But, no such luck, as she soon heard her mother's whisper in the dark as she pushed back her hair. "Addie, what's the matter? Are you sick again? What do you need?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Addie told her, brushing her concern away. "I didn't mean to wake you. You can go back to bed."

"No, tell me, please," Roxie insisted, coming to sit by her on the bed and take her in her arms. "If you're not sick, what's the matter? Is it Patrick? Do you like him? If so, you have very good taste."

"Thanks, but, I don't think he likes me back," Addie replied. "He didn't visit me in rehab and when he came to see me at the hospital, he acted like one of those old relatives that pat your head, tell you how big you got, and then slip you a butterscotch candy." She shuddered.

Roxie chuckled at this. "You seem to have a very good idea about how old relatives act, considering that you've never actually had one."

"Yeah, well, when everything you do with someone is like fireworks and then it just sorta fizzles, you tend to notice," Addie told her. "And who knows if it will ever be right again?"

Roxie went to turn on the light and gave her daughter a knowing smile. "I knew you and Patrick have feelings for each other," she told her.

Addie sniffled and Roxie handed her a tissue from the box on her bedside table.

"How'd you start liking him?" She asked her daughter curiously. "All I've ever seen the two of you do is fight."

"Oh, it's a long story," Addie said. "You wouldn't understand. I think that fighting made things really hot with us, but now, for some reason, maybe because he's scared of what the drugs did to me, he's pulling back. It's really not like him at all. He doesn't usually act like my uncle." She pictured him cuffing her and how hot he looked holding the whip before he brought it down on her stomach. It had _really_ been hot. " _Definitely_ not like my uncle."

"Then again," Roxie remarked, "Just because all a couple seems to do is fight, that doesn't mean there's not any good there. Your dad and I were like that."

"Really?" Addie was surprised. "I mean, I know you did a lot when you were kids and he would spit in your lemonade and you would call him a slob and stuff like that…but what about when you were older?"

"Well, when we were older, things calmed down a bit," Roxie confessed. "I saved him from being killed by my father and then moved into Enid's for ten years, and since your dad's uncle was working there too, that's where he lived so we saw a lot of each other and got close."

"And you didn't fight at all?" Addie asked. "I find that surprising."

"Oh, no, we still fought," Roxie assured her. "Just about things that weren't petty, you know? Like, he got this idea in his head that the only way Dad would allow us to get married is if he agreed to become a hybrid. He said it was all about us, but I think he wanted the power too. And I didn't want that for him because I knew how Daddy treated his hybrids at that point and your dad deserved better."

"But he became one anyway," Addie got out.

"Yep," Roxie sighed. "He did. And then when our friends found an apartment for us and we had to decide how to decorate it…" she scoffed. "That was another nightmare. He wanted to have this dirty, ragged, and disgusting recliner in the living room because he said it was comfortable, but I was pretty sure he was only bringing it in the house to piss me off."

"So…did you get rid of it?" Addie asked.

"Well, in the end we had to because when we were fighting over it, we kinda broke it," Roxie confessed.

The truth was that they'd ended up having sex on the chair and the weight of their bodies had been too much for the old piece of furniture, but she didn't think her daughter would want to know that part, so she kept it quiet."

"You must've been relieved," Addie remarked.

"Oh, yeah," Roxie nodded. "It felt really good to see that old thing go."

Addie gave her mother a small smile and lay back on her pillow. She had much more on her mind, but didn't want to keep her mother up. "If you want to go to bed, you can," she said. "I'll be fine here."

"You can't fool me, you know," Roxie pointed out. "I'm your mother and I care about you. And after all that just happened, I don't want you holding things inside. If there's something that's bothering you, tell me. I don't care what it is."

"Oh, it's nothing serious," Addie replied. "Just some dumb relationship thing."

"That's a start," Roxie told her. "Go on."

Addie didn't want to, but as mother stared down daughter, she quickly realized that her mother wouldn't leave until she heard exactly what was going on in her head. "It's Patrick, all right?" She blurted out. "I don't think he likes me anymore and how he acted at the hospital proved it. I was just the sort of relationship where we have sex once and then move on. That's all I am to him."

"Can I disagree?" Roxie asked. "Cause I really think I should. If you were just a fling to him, he wouldn't have come to the hospital and acted like a worried family member. He would have just left you high and dry. I think the fact that he came proves he's still got a lot of feelings. And think about how Sam acted too: if he thought there was nothing going on with you and Patrick, he wouldn't be so jealous."

"Oh, he wasn't upset because he thought Patrick was in love with me," Addie corrected. "That was cause of something else."

"Well, whatever it was, I think it's still a sign that you're not just gonna be two ships passing in the night," Roxie reiterated. "I think there's really something there between you two, even if you can't see it now. Give it time and it'll show itself."

Before Addie could do more than nod, there was a knock on her bedroom door and they saw Vince standing in the doorway. "Everything okay in here?" He asked. "Anything I can do, or do you both have it under control?"

"I think we do," Roxie nodded and then looked at Addie. "Is that what you think? Will you be able to sleep better now?"

"I do," Addie nodded. "But Daddy, can I have a hug anyway?"

"Of course," Vince nodded and came to hug her. "It's been a long time since we did that. We should do it more, even though I'm sure there are other guys you want hugs from more than me."

"Oh, I like hugs from everyone," Addie replied. "Don't worry about that."

* * *

"What are you looking at?" Leslie asked as she watched Sam staring out the door of the bar's kitchen. Roxie and Vince had left Sam and Leslie in charge while they took care of Addie and the responsibility was something Sam was taking very seriously. "Is there a burglar? Is someone planning to dine and dash?" She came up behind him and put her arms around his waist. "You know, I could think of something better for us to do than you staring out at nothing."

"Oh, it's not _nothing_!" Sam told her, moving her hands and finally turning away to face her. "That Patrick has come by, the one who got Addie in trouble, even though I _specifically_ told the bouncers not to let him in. What's the point of having bouncers if they don't do their jobs anymore?"

Leslie looked out the kitchen door and saw what he was talking about. "But he's just sitting there with a drink," she pointed out. "He's not doing anything bad. Why don't you just leave him alone?"

"Cause I can't," Sam told her, preparing to storm out of the kitchen. "I can't let what he did go unavenged."

"Oh, for the love of-" Leslie got out as she watched Sam storm into the main room and confront Patrick, his words audible to everyone. Thank goodness it was a slow time for business.

Sam strode over to Patrick and punched him in the face, which led him getting soaked with what was left of Patrick's drink.

"What's your problem?" Patrick wanted to know. "A guy just comes in to get a drink and he's attacked. Some business owner you are."

"I bet you still don't feel bad about what you did to Addie," Sam told him. "I'm just making sure you do!"

"Why are you so hung up on her?" Patrick asked. "You want her for yourself? Is that it?"

"Of course not," Sam spat. "I'm already married to someone I love very much, but Addie's been part of my life for a long time. She's like a sister to me. And so it will be a cold day in hell when I stop looking out for her and let some idiot ruin her life. I feel I owe that not only to her, but to her parents as well. Now, unless you want something worse than a punch in the face, I think you should leave here and not come back ever again. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Patrick nodded. "But I also don't think it's your place to decide how Addie should live her life. I came to the hospital to wish her well, not make things worse for her. And if, after she's feeling better, she still wants to be with me, that'll be her choice, not yours to make for her."

"Oh, I seriously doubt that will happen," Sam scoffed. "And if it does, I'll think she's insane, but it's not like I'll be able to stop it."

"Good," Patrick said as he got in Sam's face. "I'm gonna go now."

"Good," Sam replied. "I won't be upset to see the back of you." He watched Patrick stride off, amused that their exchange hadn't changed the atmosphere of the place at all. Everyone was very blasé about fights unless the alcohol was threatened and that hadn't been the case this time.

"Well, I'm proud of you," Leslie remarked as she came to take his hand. "You held onto your temper reasonably well."

"And I stuck up for you," Sam told her. "Did you hear that?"

"I don't think it was possible _not_ to hear it," Leslie smiled and kissed him. "But I'm very touched."

"I'm glad," Sam said. "You think Addie's gonna take that jerk back?"

"You probably won't want to hear this, but I wouldn't be surprised if she did," Leslie told him. "He really seems to care about her in his own way."

In response to this, Sam gave her a long look, then boosted himself over the bar and drank beer straight from the tap as Leslie sat on a bar stool and rolled her eyes.

* * *

"I win again, Uncle Caleb!" Sophia jumped up and down as she touched the arm of the sofa. "Now you hide!"

"Sophia, Uncle Caleb is kind of tired now," he told her, trying to keep the irritation from his voice. "Why don't you go to your room and play with your toys for a bit?"

"Will you play with me?" Sophia asked, tugging at his arm.

"Not at the moment," Caleb told her with a shake of his head. "Learning how to play by yourself is a very important skill." He then watched her pout and stomp off to the opposite sofa as he mentally cursed Todd for leaving to go shooting at the rifle range just when everyone else had a date to go on, it being a Friday night and all. So now, here he was with no girlfriend, and at the mercy of a toddler.

Just then the doorbell rang. Caleb took Sophia by the hand and went to look out the window and see who was on the front step. "Damn," he whispered when he saw Lilith. "How did _she_ get here?"

"Who is it?" Sophia asked.

"Someone we don't let into the house under any circumstances," Caleb replied. "Do you understand?"

But Sophia just smiled at him, used her magic to open the door, and gave Lilith a smile. "Hi," she said and held out her hand. "I'm Sophia. What's your name?"

"Lilith," Lilith told her. "May I come in, please? I want to talk to that cute man behind you."

Sophia looked at him and giggled. "She thinks you're cute!"

"No, I'm not," Caleb huffed. "And what did I say about not opening the door to weirdos? Weren't you listening to me, Sophia? She's leaving right now, no buts!"

Lilith ignored this and strode inside, bending down to talk to Sophia, who seemed to be much more enthusiastic about her presence than her uncle was. "What are you two doing?" She asked. Something inside her really liked the little girl.

"We're gonna make ice cream!" Sophia cried. "Do it with us!" She then held out her arms to Caleb. "Pick me up and put me on your head!" She demanded.

"Oh, fine," he said, picking her up and putting her on his shoulders. It was something Todd did with her and she'd wanted him to do it for her too, all night, as if she were a damn princess. "But when did I say we're making ice cream?"

"I think it sounds like fun!" Lilith exclaimed. "I love ice cream!"

They got into the kitchen and Caleb put Sophia on her feet as he rolled his eyes at Lilith. "Now what do we do?" She asked.

"The machine and the flavors are downstairs," Caleb told her.

"Do you need me to come with you and look?" Lilith offered the little girl.

"Yeah, do you need her to come with you?" Caleb asked, pushing his hair back. "Please say you do."

"No, I can do it," Sophia assured him and ran off.

"So…" Lilith took his hand. "It seems like it's just gonna be you and me for a little while. What do you want to do until she gets back?"

"I don't want to be anywhere near you!" Caleb asserted. They stood on opposite sides of the kitchen staring at each other until Sophia returned, a large, clinking box floating behind her. "I found the ice cream stuff!" She announced.

"Good job!" Lilith praised, picking the box up out of the air and putting it on the counter. She tried to assemble it and then handed the box to Caleb. "You look like a strong and capable man," she remarked. "Want to put the machine together for little me while Sophia and I look for ice cream flavors?"

"Fine, whatever," Caleb huffed. "As long as you don't talk to me."

After he got the machine put together, he saw that they were still hunting for flavors, so he took Lilith by the arm and asked her to come talk with him in private.

"What?" Lilith asked. "What do you need to tell me, as if it's hard to guess?"

"I want you to get out," Caleb told her. "How many times do I have to say it before you get the message?"

Lilith watched Sophia, who was pulling flavors out of the box, rejecting them, and throwing the packages all over the kitchen floor. "I can't leave now," she said. "Not when your niece is having such a good time."

"Well, I don't give a damn about that!" Caleb told her. "You piss me off and I want you gone!"

"Do you really?" Lilith asked, giving him such an intense look that he began to fidget and run his fingers nervously through his hair.

"What the hell do you want from me?" He asked desperately. "Tell me so we can get it taken care of and then you can go and be out of my life forever!"

"I want you to admit that you're attracted to me," she said and pushed him against the wall, ripping his shirt in a way that sent buttons flying everywhere. "I don't know why that's such a hard thing for you to do."

"Because I'm not attracted to you!" Caleb cried. "I mean, you might make certain parts of my body more perky than I would like, but that doesn't mean I actually like you."

"And what parts would those be?" Lilith asked, putting her hand right over his crotch. "Tell me? Is it your penis? Hmmm?" She grinned and felt movement under her hand.

"Damn you!" Caleb whispered, shaking his head. "Damn you!"

"What's a penis?" Sophia asked as she came toward them with an ice cream flavor packet in hand.

"It's a part of boys that helps them pee," Caleb told her, blushing bright red. It was the first explanation he could think of, although it wasn't all correct.

"Oh," Sophia nodded. "Do I have a penis to help me pee?"

"No," Lilith shook her head. "You have a vagina like I do."

"Okay," Sophia nodded.

Now Caleb was bright red. "Can we talk about something else please? Or at the very least make the damn ice cream? What flavor did you pick?"

"Strawberry!" Sophia cried. "Cause it's pink!"

"It's a good choice," Lilith said, patting her on the head. "I have something else I need to say to your uncle so you go and wait by the machine for a little bit, okay?"

"All right," Sophia agreed eagerly.

When she was gone, Lilith crossed her arms, stared at Caleb, and said in a low voice, "Can we at least agree that you want me?"

"I think we can," Caleb nodded. "I mean, I'm sure you've looked in the mirror lately. In fact, it's probably all you do. You're a pretty woman, so of course I want you. Any guy would."

"And I want you too, cause you're really handsome when you're not yelling," Lilith told him. "So why is sex so hard for us? Or for you? Do you have problems getting an erection? Is that why you won't sleep with me?"

"No, that's not the problem!" Caleb shook his head. "You felt last time that it wasn't."

"Oh, indeed," Lilith chuckled. "That was good." She stomped her foot. "Why won't you let us do it again? Why are you so stubborn?"

"Because it's no good!" Caleb told her. "I messed up last time. It was only a little bit."

"Is that how it usually is with you?" Lilith questioned. "Cause I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt if it was just a fluke." She paused. "And even if it _was_ a fluke, it was one of the best damn flukes I've ever experienced." She grinned and when he still frowned back at her, she said, "So it's me, isn't it? Is it my hair?"

"No," Caleb shook his head. "Your hair is fine."

"My boobs?" She looked at him, wide-eyed. "Cause lots of guys seem to like them."

"No, your boobs are fine too," Caleb told her. "I like them very much. I'd be an idiot not to."

"Then what the hell is the problem?" Lilith cried out in frustration. Demon boys were _never_ this much trouble, that was for sure.

"Because we don't know each other!" Caleb blurted out. "Maybe you can easily have sex with someone you just met, but I can't. That's not how it works. We would need to get to know each other, you know? Go out on dates and stuff. At least three before we even _talk_ about having sex again."

"Why three?" Lilith asked curiously.

"I have no idea," Caleb shrugged. "It's just a rule."

Lilith scoffed. "Sounds like a stupid rule to me. Where I come from people don't wait that long to have sex."

"Obviously," Caleb nodded. "Obviously dating and just kissing before having sex is totally over your head."

Just then, a crash interrupted them and they looked over to see Sophia looking sheepishly at a pile of parts that had once been the ice cream machine. "It fell down," she said.

"I can see that," Caleb told her. "Here, I'll take it to the bedroom and put it together again." Then he told Lilith, "Watch her like a hawk until I get back, will you?"

Once Caleb was gone, Sophia came toward Lilith and said, "Do you like Uncle Caleb?"

"You're a very perceptive little girl," Lilith smiled at her. "But I don't think he likes me very much. Is he always this grouchy?"

"Yes," Sophia rolled her eyes. "All the time!" She paused and then said, "Share ice cream with him and he'll like you."

"Is that so?" Lilith asked. "You really think that will work?"

"Yes, I do," Sophia nodded. "Cause I like people who give _me_ ice cream. And cookies."

"Sounds like solid logic to me," Lilith smiled at her and gave her a hug. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome," Sophia said. "Good luck." She paused. "When will you tell him you're like me?"

"What do you mean?" Lilith asked.

Then Sophia made her demon face and Lilith nearly fainted. She was a gray one! This sweet little girl was a gray one! She wondered if Eric knew. She hoped he didn't. When Sophia's face was back to normal, Lilith got on her knees and said, "Sophia, I want you to listen to me very carefully, okay? I _am_ just like you are, but you can't tell anyone because there's a very bad man out there who wants to do things to people like us, all right? Make us be his slaves. And trust me, you don't want to be Eric's slave. You'd hate it."

"Can I see your demon face?" Sophia asked. "Or are you lying?"

"Oh, I'm not," Lilith replied, revealing her pale complexion and black eyes. "See?"

"Wow," Sophia said in amazement. "You should tell Uncle Caleb!"

"No, I can't," Lilith shook her head. "Cause if he found out, he would hate me."

"No he wouldn't," Sophia shook her head resolutely. "He would like you like he likes me."

"I'm not so sure about that," Lilith told her. "Just…please keep this a secret? Could you do that for me?"

"Okay," Sophia nodded, their talk ending just as Caleb came back into the kitchen with the ice cream machine.


	16. Why Don't You Let Me In?

After the batch of strawberry was made and eaten, Lilith was sure that Caleb would kick her out, so she said to Sophia, "Why don't we make another batch? Surely there's got to be one more flavor you want to make in there."

"Okay!" Sophia cried, even though her tummy was getting full. "You can pick the flavor if you want, Lilith."

"Well, thank you, aren't you sweet?" Lilith smiled.

"I think I'll leave the two of you to do this," Caleb said and started to walk away, but then Sophia sped a chair under him with her magic and made him sit there.

"Please stay," Lilith implored. "It wouldn't be as fun without you."

That being said, Caleb helped them make the chocolate and then, while Sophia sat at the table, a small bowl in front of her, Caleb flicked some of his ice cream in Lilith's hair, making her let out a shriek.

"Damn, that cold!" she cried and took some of what was left in the machine out with her hands, smearing it all over Caleb's face.

"I wanna play too!" Sophia cried and smeared some more ice cream all over her uncle's pants.

"Hey, I'm _already_ dirty," Caleb reminded her. "Go get Lilith! She hardly has anything on her!"

So Sophia did and, chasing Lilith down and pinning her to the kitchen floor and covering her with all the ice cream her little hands could have on them. She wasn't as dirty as Caleb or Sophia was, but it was enough.

"So," she got out as she stood up. "I guess we're not gonna actually be eating any of that chocolate?"

"I guess not," Caleb shrugged.

Lilith quickly cleaned the room and apologized to Sophia. "I'm sorry," she told her, sitting down across from her at the table. "I bet you were looking forward to eating some of that, but we made it go all over the kitchen."

"That's okay." Sophia shrugged. "My tummy was full from the strawberry anyway." She then asked, "Lilith, is chocolate your favorite flavor?"

"One of them," Lilith nodded.

Sophia then announced she had to go use the bathroom.

"Do you need help?" Caleb asked as she hopped off her chair.

"No, thank you," Sophia shook her head. "I can do it. I'm fine."

Once she was gone, Lilith gave Caleb a smoldering look and came to take his hand. "You wanna know my _other_ favorite flavor?" She asked.

"Um…well…pistachio?" Caleb guessed.

"No," Lilith shook her head and used her finger to remove some chocolate ice cream that was on his cheek, licking it off slowly. " _You_. Caleb flavor. I can't wait to have more of it."

Caleb felt his body get hot and then when Sophia returned from the bathroom, he said, "You know, isn't it your bed time after all this ice cream? You must be sleepy!"

"I'm not!" Sophia pouted, crossing her arms and stomping her foot. Then she looked at Lilith. "Tell Uncle Caleb I don't have to go to sleep!"

"Oh, I think it's time," Lilith told her. "It's very dark outside. But I'll help him tuck you in your little bed, okay?"

Sophia still didn't want to go to sleep, but she let them take her to her bedroom, tuck her in, and turn off the light, and as Caleb shut the door behind them, he told Lilith, "Okay, we've had our little ice cream date, but everyone will probably be home any minute and I don't want them to see you here, so you have to go now."

Lilith's jaw dropped. "Why don't you want them to see me? Are you ashamed of me or something? I was thinking that we could take a rest just like Sophia. I really want to see your bedroom." She put a hand on his chest, sliding it down toward his belly. "Come on, you know you want to."

"No, I don't!" Caleb shook his head. "What can I do to get rid of you? I should have known that if I let you stay for ice cream, you would just ask for more and more!"

"I'm only helping you acknowledge your feelings," Lilith explained. "I don't understand why you keep pushing me away when it's perfectly obvious you want me here with you. Is it because we haven't done that dating thing you were talking about? And if you want to talk, we can talk in your bed. I would like that."

"No," Caleb shook his head before he could think about it and actually take her up on the offer. "If you want to sleep, I'll sleep in my bed and _you_ can sleep on the couch."

Lilith chuckled and followed him to his bedroom, watching him undress. "If you think I'm gonna sleep on a couch when there's this nice, comfy bed with plenty of room for both of us, you're crazy." She then undressed down to her underwear just like him, pulled the covers aside, and climbed in, her dark eyes sparkling. "Come play with me, Caleb!"

"Oh, no, I've seen that movie," Caleb backed away. "It won't end well."

"What movie?" Lilith asked.

"Come on," Caleb scoffed. " _The Shining_? The creepy little twins that say 'Come play with us, Danny'? You've never seen that?"

"Is it scary?" Lilith asked. "Cause I'm perfectly happy to watch scary movies with you."

"Good," Caleb replied, full of relief as he put his clothes on again. "Let's do it and forget about this nap business!"

"No, we can watch a scary movie on our next date," Lilith told him and patted the mattress. "We can't stop this now."

Caleb shook his head. "You won't leave me alone, will you? How is it that those words mean nothing to you?"

"I just want to be next to you," Lilith told him. "That's all."

"Yeah, right," Caleb shot back. Then he looked at her big, imploring eyes and noticed that she was wearing a push-up bra and groaned to himself. "Damn it! Fine, you can be in bed with me. But don't try this trick again."

She snugged next to him and put his arm around her. "See?" She smiled. "Isn't this nice? It's not as bad as you thought it would be, is it?"

"Here's the new rule, all right?" Caleb told her. "We're supposed to be sleeping, not talking. Let's just stick with that."

Then Lilith ran her hand over his abs. "If you just wanted us to sleep, then why are you in your underwear?" She questioned. "I think you wanted to do more things with me than just hang out in your bed. Admit it. More fun things. And that's okay, cause it's what I want too."

"Yes, you've made that very clear," Caleb nodded and went to move her hand, but ended up holding it, his warm skin against hers, looking at her for a long moment before leaning forward and kissing her deeply.

Soon, things became more intense. His lips were all over her: her neck, her breasts, her stomach, her belly. Her hands were in his hair and running down his chest, she was nibbling on his earlobe and nipping him under the chin.

But when she sneaked her hand into his boxers, that was going too far. That made him push her away. "We can't go on like this," he told her.

"Why not?" She asked. "Is it because of that dating thing again? I don't get that at all! You were enjoying yourself. Why stop?"

"Cause it wouldn't be fair to you if we kept going," Caleb told her. "I didn't have a condom on me the first time and I don't know if you're on anything, so we got lucky that nothing happened. This time, though, I'm gonna be responsible, and since I don't have any condoms, we're not having sex."

"I don't care if you don't have a condom," Lilith told him. "I mean, it's sweet that you care, but…you don't have to. It's not important."

"Well, maybe it's not to you, but it is to me!" Caleb spat, his voice sharp. Then he sighed. "Sorry about that. I don't mean to be so harsh, but…I want you to feel like I respect you. Like I'm not just a guy who's out looking for a cheap thrill and you're it. But…if you're determined to have sex, I suppose I could find a condom somewhere around here." He got out of bed and headed for his brothers' rooms. He was sure he could get one from one of their bathrooms.

When he came back, she snatched the condom from his hands and studied it. "How is this gonna help us have sex?" She questioned. "It's just plastic!"

"Are you making fun of me?" Caleb asked. "Cause with all I'm doing to make you happy, letting you get close to me and that stuff, I really don't appreciate any jokes."

"No, I'm serious!" Lilith insisted. "I really don't understand this at all."

When Caleb realized she meant it, he asked, "How could you not know about condoms? What planet did you grow up on? You don't know about dating, everyone around you has sex right away and with reckless abandon, it sounds like…I just don't understand you at all, and it's driving me nuts! My life has just turned into a giant rollercoaster since we met!"

"Is that a bad thing?" Lilith asked, still dumbfounded by the condom, which she tossed onto the empty mattress space between them. "I hear some people like rollercoasters. Especially the ones that go upside down." She grinned. "Can you take me to one sometime? I think it would be fun!"

"I don't know," Caleb shrugged. "Let's just get through tonight and then we'll see. How about that?"

"Fine," Lilith replied and picked up the condom again. "I still don't see why we need this."

"Well, you let me put this on, or we don't have sex at all," Caleb told her. "I thought the answer would be easy for you."

"It's really not," Lilith told him and reached into his boxers to touch him. "If you put that on, I won't be able to feel you. All I'll feel is plastic and that's no fun, is it?" Then she kissed him and when she pulled away, he shook his head and took her face in his hands. "Are you for real?" He asked. "I don't get you at all."

"So…are we not using the condom?" She asked hopefully. "Please?"

"I think we should wait," He said. "Sophia's nearby and if we did anything, she'd probably hear us cause you'd be screaming so loud and explaining to her why Uncle Caleb and Lilith are naked together is not something I'm ready to handle. Just talking to her about penises was enough of a challenge for one night. I don't think I could handle another one. Plus, my sister and everyone will be back any minute. You understand, right? I have my reasons. I'm not trying to be mean or anything."

"It's okay," Lilith told him as she massaged his palm with her thumb. "Don't they say the best things in life are worth waiting for?"

"I guess," Caleb nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem," Lilith replied with a smile. Then she yawned and lay back down. "Are you still willing to sleep on this bed with me?"

"Yes," Caleb replied, lying down beside her. "That's all right. I'm pleased you're being such a good sport about this."

"Well, I can bide my time," she told him. "I know we'll have other dates."

Caleb chuckled and closed his eyes. "Let's just take things one day at a time, shall we, and see how things end up?"

"Sure," Lilith smiled, snuggling against him and kissing his cheek. "I'll take what I can get as long as it means I can be close to you."

* * *

"Still in this cave?" Eric asked as he strode up to John. "I'm surprised at you. I thought you'd want to be at home with your pregnant wife."

"She doesn't want me there," John said firmly. "Otherwise I would be. She and any child we have are going to turn against me so I'm here to protect myself."

"Oh, well that's a relief," Eric grinned.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" John wanted to know.

"Well, if you care so little for your future child, that must mean I won't have to fight you about your granddaughter either," Eric shrugged. "It just makes things easier for me, because think of how much trouble her parents are going to be."

"My _granddaughter_?" John asked.

"You really don't pay attention to your family, do you?" Eric asked. "Your little granddaughter Sophia? The baby your son was expecting when you brainwashed him to kill his girlfriend Jill?"

"Oh, that granddaughter," John nodded. "I see. Why do you care so much about her?"

"Because," Eric whispered in John's ear, "She's gonna be my wife someday."

The words made John's blood run cold, and for the first time since he'd started taking part in this plan with Eric, he began to question it.

"What?" Eric chuckled. "You look nervous. Are you nervous, John?"

"No," John scoffed. "Of course not. Do you have anything else to tell me? How much progress have you made with our plan? Any at all?"

"Be patient," Eric told him. "These things take time, John."

"Not a lot of time, I hope," John told him. "I don't want it to take the rest of my life. I actually want to be able to enjoy the results."

"You will," Eric grinned, "But only if you get your ass out of this cave."

Then he disappeared and John was left alone. He thought about what Eric had told him about Sophia and then began rooting around for his phone to call her, but realized (as he swore under his breath) that he hadn't brought it with him.

There was only one thing left for him to do: he would have to leave (at least for a little while and tell Freya in person. There was no other way around it.

So he left the cave and zapped himself home, looking in an open window, seeing Freya and Christian talking as the wolves lay in front of the fireplace. When Freya got up, he sucked in his breath. She had an obvious belly. Eric had been right. So she'd been lying to him before about the pregnancy test. It _had_ been hers. He wasn't crazy!

"No!" He slapped himself. "Focus! You came here for a reason."

He used his powers to lower the temperature outside and then wrote on in the frost on the windowpane, "Watch out for Sophia. Beware of threats." Then he had just enough time to make his words stay in the window before Freya got up to close the curtains and he zipped away.

"Damn," Freya remarked. "Why do you think it got so cold all of a sudden?"

"I don't know," Christian shook his head. "Would you like another blanket?"

"No, I just need to close the curtains and I think…" Freya began, but trailed off when she saw the message on the window. "Christian, come here and have a look at this message on the window. It's about Sophia. It seems like she's in danger or something. Or at least whoever left this message seems to think so."

"Who do you think put it there?" Christian asked as he looked at it. "Cause messages like this don't just appear on windows by themselves."

Freya shrugged. "If I had to pick, I would hope it was your dad, but…that seems like something that's way too selfless for him to do, since he doesn't seem to value girls very much. If it were really him, it would probably be a gloating message about how Sophia will be in trouble soon. It's probably part of his scheme to take over the world."

"Well, Sophia will not be part of that," Christian said firmly. "I am going to make certain of that."

"Good," his mother told him. "You're a very good father, Christian."

"Thanks," Christian replied. "I just want the best for her. That's all."

* * *

"How was your spin class?" Klaus asked as Amy came in to the house with their daughters Vivi and Rosalie trailing behind her. They were both redheaded just like Amy.

"Oh, it was great!" Amy told him. "So nice to get a work out. It really makes me feel like I accomplished something."

Vivi then strode over to her father who was sitting in front of the TV with a king-sized bag of chips in hand that was nearly empty. "Dad, you were eating those when we left, weren't you?"

"Yes, so?" Klaus asked as he held the bag out of her grip. "They're tasty, what's the problem?"

"How long has it been since you've had _vegetables_ , Daddy?" Vivi asked. "Since we're humans now you have to take better care of yourself."

"Would you listen to them?" Klaus told Rosalie. "They don't think I'm taking care of myself!"

"Well, are you?" Rosalie asked, coming behind him to put her arms around his neck. "You know, Aaron behaves just like this on the anniversary of his mother's death so I have to hide all my candy and stuff if I want any around that time." Aaron was Rosalie's boyfriend, a one-time human whose mother had been murdered by Klaus.

"I'm fine," Klaus huffed. "I don't need help."

"Well, fine," Rosalie stepped away and took out her phone. "I guess I'll just take a picture and send it to Jonathan. That'll give him a good laugh."

That did it. Klaus threw the chips aside and tried to wrest the phone from his daughter, the horror of his son in law and rival seeing him like this being too much to bear. "Not Putnum!" He shook his head. "Not Putnam!"

"Okay, then put the chip bag down," Rosalie told him. "Put the chip bag down, get off your butt, and at least have some vegetables or something. We can start your workout tomorrow."

"Fine," Klaus huffed and handed Amy the bag.

"Thank you," Amy told him. "I'm gonna put this somewhere you can't get to. It's better this way. You'll thank us."

"I'm sure I won't but since it's three against one and I'm a lowly human, I don't really have much choice, do I?" He strode off, leaving his wife and daughters staring at one another.

"And there it is," Rosalie got out. "We should have seen this coming."

"I know," Amy nodded. "But he seemed all right at first, so it didn't even occur to me."

"What do you think we should about it?" Vivi asked. "You wanna call Alistair?"

"No, we can handle it on our own," Amy shook her head. "Alistair's got enough to do helping Astrid get the council in order again. We know your father just as well as Alistair does. We can help him."

* * *

But depriving Klaus of his junk food made him mad enough that he didn't speak to them again until Amy saw him at bedtime.

"What's wrong?" She asked. "You can tell me, you know."

"How can you and the girls be okay with this?" Klaus asked. "Be okay with being nothing when we used to have the power to do anything that we wanted?"

"I admit that there are things I miss about having powers, but I guess since I already went through this in a way when I had my transition from witch to vampire, I'm sort of used to it," Amy said. "I know you're upset, but eating away your troubles isn't going to fix anything."

"It does," Klaus nodded. "For a moment. And then when that wears off and I feel bad again, I eat something else. It's a pretty easy system. I don't know why you think it's so bad."

"Because it will kill you if you don't keep healthy," Amy replied. "We might get our powers back some day and if you're dead before that happens, I'm gonna be really upset. You promised me an eternity and that's what I want, okay?" She kissed him and looked deep in his eyes until he nodded.

Feeling satisfied, Amy lay back down and smiled at him. "I love you, Klaus."

Klaus took her in his arms and kissed her hair. "I love you too, Amy." He held her at arms' length and looked at her. "You still think I'm the biggest, baddest man around, right?"

"Yes," Amy smiled as he played with her hair. "Of course I do. I would never think anything else."


	17. Date Night At Last

"So…what are you doing?" Eric asked as he saw Lilith saunter out wearing a black lace dress. "Why are you dress like that?" He grinned. "Going to get some demon hosts for me?"

"Yes," Lilith smiled. "What else would I be going out for? Especially with Caleb." She grinned. "Wouldn't it be fun to have a member of the coven be a demon?"

"It's a bit of a gamble," He said. "You better be careful and hope that nothing goes wrong." He grabbed her. "How often have you seen that Caleb? A lot? Have you been to his house? Have you seen Sophia? If you so much as _breathe_ on her, I'll kill you. Do you understand?"

"Yes!" Lilith scoffed and pushed him away. "You have no way of knowing this but I can promise you that I will not be hurting your precious Sophia, okay? Now keep your paws off of me!"

"How interesting," Eric grinned. "That's something I'd never thought I'd hear coming from your mouth."

"Yeah, well, things change," Lilith spat. "You're not irresistible, you know."

Just then the doorbell rang and Lilith grinned. "Well, what do you know? It's my date! I'll actually have a good night after all. And just like you don't want me going anywhere near Sophia, you better not touch Caleb or say anything to him either, got it?"

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Eric assured her. "I wouldn't do anything to him. There would be no sport in it."

"Just make sure you don't," Lilith narrowed her eyes, not trusting him for a minute. She then took a deep breath and shook out her hair before opening the door and pulling Caleb into her arms, giving him a big kiss, which was a good move because when he saw her dress, he nearly fainted from how pretty she looked. "Hi," she breathed.

"Hello," Caleb told her as he got to his feet. "You know, I wasn't expecting that, but I like it."

"You weren't?" Lilith asked. "Have you paid any attention to our relationship so far at all?"

"Oh, give him a break," Eric commented with a smirk. "Maybe he's trying to tell you that he doesn't like being pawed at by an oversexed woman."

"On the contrary," Caleb corrected. "I like it very much. I wouldn't be taking her out tonight if I wasn't looking forward to the possibility after."

Lilith stuck her tongue out at Eric then turned back to Caleb. "You know, most women would probably slap you for saying something like that, but hearing it makes me very happy."

"I know," Caleb grinned. "Why do you think I said it in the first place?"

They then began kissing and didn't let up until they heard Eric groan. "Don't you two have other things to do than stand there and shove your tongues down each other's throats?"

"We could," Lilith said. "What's the matter? Jealous?"

"No," Eric shook his head. "Just go away. Please."

"All right," Lilith grabbed Caleb's hand and they left the house. "You look very nice," she remarked. "Now, you wanna tell me what we're doing tonight?"

"No," Caleb smiled and pulled a strip of fabric out of his pocket. "It's a surprise. Now, tie this around your eyes until I tell you."

"Well, I like how this is going," Lilith complied and then he gave her a boost into the passenger seat.

As they drove away, he said, "If this is too personal a question, you don't have to answer it, but…why do you live with that guy? He seems like a real jerk."

"I know, but it's a bit complicated," Lilith told him. "I don't have any family and he's the son of family friends who also doesn't have anyone else, so we decided to move in together so we didn't feel so alone in the world."

"I'm sorry it has to be like that," Caleb apologized as he took her hand for a moment.

"It's not your fault," she said. "It's not like _you_ killed my parents." She then said, "Besides, I have a feeling I'll be getting new living arrangements soon enough." She grinned.

Caleb made a noise in his throat and shook his head, but he was grinning. "Please put the blindfold on," he said again. "This is the most romantic I've tried to be in a long time and I don't want that ruined."

"All right," Lilith conceded, putting the blindfold over her eyes and wondering just what the big surprise was.

* * *

"Now, remind me why I need to be blindfolded?" Lilith asked when she couldn't contain herself any longer cause it seemed like they would never stop driving. "It's not because you want to try and cop a feel, right?"

"Of course not," Caleb replied, even though he had to admit the lacy black dress she was wearing gave him a view of her legs that he liked. "I want to surprise you with where we're going for our date. I told you that."

"Well, I assume it's somewhere nice since you told me to dress up," Lilith said.

"Yep," Caleb nodded. "But that's all you get to know for now."

So Lilith sat back in her seat, eagerly wondering what sort of thing he had in mind. As he parked and led her out of the car, at one point, he asked her to kick off her shoes. She did and felt sand underneath her toes.

"Did you take me to the beach?" She asked and pulled off the blindfold, looking around to see that they were indeed on an abandoned beach with the stars above them and the ocean crashing nearby.

"This is amazing," she breathed and then ran to the water, letting it splash her bare legs and cover her feet. "Come in with me!"

"All right," Caleb nodded, removing his shoes and socks and rolling up his pant legs before joining her in the water. "It's good we're doing this now because you're not supposed to go near the water after you eat."

"Why not?" Lilith wanted to know.

"I have no idea," Caleb shrugged. "It's just what everyone says."

"Well, I think that's dumb," Lilith got out. Then she looked back at the shore and noticed a lone table covered in a white table cloth on the beach with two chairs on either side and a man in a white jacket and black pants bringing out wine. "Who's that?" She asked. "What's he doing?"

"Oh, it looks like it's time for us to eat!" Caleb exclaimed as he took her hand and they ran over the sand to the table. He pulled out her chair for her and when she'd sat down, he took the chair across from her. When her menu was placed in front of her and she'd had a little time to look at it, he asked, "So…any idea what you're going to have yet?"

"Not really," Lilith shook her head. "Do you have any suggestions? We don't eat a lot of this stuff where I come from."

"Well, in that case, why don't we get a combo plate?" Caleb suggested. "It's got a bit of everything and we can share."

"All right," Lilith nodded as he reached across the table to grab her menu. "Sounds good to me."

After they'd ordered, Lilith leaned forward and said, "How did you find this place? It seems a bit out of the way. And why is there no one here but us?"

"My friend owns this place," he told her. "They actually open for the summer in a few days, but when I told him what I wanted, he said that he'd open for the night so that it could be special for us."

"Really?" Lilith smiled. "That's so nice of him!"

"Yeah," Caleb nodded. "I know. He wants me to do something for him in return, but he won't tell me what, so I'm a little nervous."

"Well, if I can help when you find out what it is, don't be afraid to tell me," Lilith told him. "Since this was for both of us, you shouldn't have to do the favor alone if you don't want to."

"Thanks," He smiled and drank some of his wine. "But I think I can handle it."

After the food came, there was very little talking as they dug into shrimp, various kinds of fish, oysters and crab, and then when the platter was empty, he asked her, "Do you think you'll have enough room for dessert?"

"If we split it, I probably will," Lilith nodded, determined not to miss out on any part of the experience. "Let's do it!"

So they split a large piece of cheesecake drizzled with strawberry sauce, Caleb paid the bill, and then they ran around in the water again for a while.

When they had their shoes on and were driving away, Lilith asked, "So what happens now? The night's not over, is it?"

"No," Caleb shook his head. "I was thinking we could go dancing if you still had the energy for it."

"Of course I do," Lilith nodded. "Us being in close contact to loud music, our bodies swaying together…I'm all for it!"

Caleb grinned. "I thought you would be."

* * *

They drove to a club a few miles away, and when they were inside, Lilith immediately pulled him onto the dance floor, her movements very enthusiastic although it seemed like she hadn't danced much in her life.

It was getting them odd stares, so Caleb was very relieved when a slower song came on and he could pull her close and sway with her to the music. Or lead, if things were fast enough that they could do actual dance steps.

"You know," she remarked as they stood cheek to cheek and swayed back and forth, "I like this much better than the faster dancing."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" He whispered in her ear as she moved her hands from his waist to cup his bottom. "I knew that was coming," He remarked when he felt a squeeze. "What took you so long?" He grinned. "What do you say we do one more dance and then get out of here?"

"Why?" Lilith asked and pouted. "Why would you take me home when things are going so well?"

"I didn't say I was going to take you home," Caleb shook his head and kissed her deeply. "Well, not to _your_ home, anyway. I was thinking we could go to mine and you could spend the night since it's getting so late, but if you're gonna be upset…"

"No, sorry!" Lilith squealed and then threw her arms around his neck as she jumped up and down. "I didn't know that's what you meant, but if that's the plan, I'm all for it. Hell, we don't have to do another dance. Let's just go!"

Caleb struggled to stay on his feet as she pulled him after her like a skier, not stopping until they were in the club parking lot. "Open the car!" She cried eagerly as he rooted around in his pockets for his car keys. "Open the car!"

"Okay, there!" He got out as he opened the passenger door and she threw herself inside.

They then sped away and there were several times that Caleb had to stop her from reaching the steering wheel and making him drive faster.

* * *

When they reached Helene and Malachai's house, all the lights were off, both outside the house and inside, and when the two of them reached the front door, Caleb looked Lilith in the eyes and said, "We need to be quiet because everyone is asleep and we don't want to wake them up. You think you can do that?"

"I'll try," Lilith promised. But of course, the second the door had shut behind them, she covered his mouth with hers and then began trying to undo his zipper.

He thought about trying to stop her, but then realized it would be useless to try and get her to do foreplay anywhere else besides right there in the entryway. Thank goodness it was dark and everyone was asleep.

As she nibbled on his earlobe and kissed his neck, the tickle feeling made him laugh out loud before he put his hand over his mouth.

Lilith chuckled at this. "I thought you said we were supposed to be quiet," she reminded him. "Did you forget?"

"No, your lips tickled," he said. "I couldn't help laughing. Maybe we should continue this in the bedroom. What do you say?"

"I say kick your pants aside and let's go!" Lilith told him.

So he did and then gave them to her to hold as he picked her up and did a remarkable job of navigating the way to his bedroom in the dark. "Are you sure this room is yours?" Lilith asked.

"Well, let's see," Caleb told her. He turned on the lights and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the bed was empty and they were indeed in his room.

"That was lucky," he breathed. "Otherwise, it would have been really awkward." He picked her up. "Now that we have that straightened out, where were we?"

"Right here," Lilith smiled, kissing him again, her fingers threading through his hair and making it stick up. She then threw his pants on the floor and they were soon joined by his shirt and boxers and her dress and underwear. Because the room was warm, their bodies remained completely exposed as he held her close to him, kissing her neck and shoulder, and then down her collarbone, then letting her fall back on the pillow as he looked down into her eyes and then slowly sucked on each nipple in turn as he rubbed her breasts.

"I'm so hot," she breathed. "So hot!"

So Caleb put a shirt on and sprinted to the kitchen, bringing back some ice and rubbing it all over her body, but it didn't do much good, since it all melted almost immediately.

"Sorry that didn't work," he got out. Then he had another idea. He suggested she get out of bed and come with him to the nearest bathroom. When they reached it, he turned the bath faucet on and made sure the water was cool, then gestured for her to get in the bath ahead of him. "Does that feel better?" He asked as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Oh, yes," she nodded. "Much." She then shut her eyes and made little contented noises as he soaked a wash cloth with cold water and ran it over her body.

"That's good," she told him. "Keep doing that." Her eyes were closed and she was just about to fall asleep when she felt water splash in her face.

"Hey!" She coughed and then splashed back. "What was that for?"

"Well, I just didn't want you to fall asleep before we had a chance to _do_ anything, since this is all you talk about," Caleb told her with a smile.

She splashed him back and soon they were splashing and giggling loudly, forgetting that the door for that bathroom didn't have a silence spell on it, which meant that every sound they made could be heard loud and clear.

When they had cooled down, they toweled each other off and ran back to his bedroom, where, after he put on a condom, they continued what they'd been doing before. He buried himself inside her over and over and she was not shy about directing him.

"More!" She cried as she clung to him. "More!"

"Would you calm down?" Caleb cried. "I'm doing the best I can, don't rush me. If you rush me, I don't perform as well."

"Yeah, I remember," Lilith grinned. "You can only go three!"

"It was not three!" Caleb grunted as he buried himself deep and she let out a shriek of joy. "There you go!" She exclaimed. "That's what I was waiting for!"

After that, they paused to take a breath and Caleb finally pulled the blankets over them.

"Why are you doing that?" Lilith asked, squirming uncomfortably cause she didn't like the feel of the fabric against her skin. "Why is that necessary? First that silly condom and then covering our bodies up with a sheet? Why? I hope you're not ashamed of your body." She reached out and put a hand on his belly. "I think it's nice just like mine. And it's summer. We don't need to have a bunch of blankets on top of us."

"Well, thanks for the compliment," he told her, still a little dumbfounded by how blunt she was. "But I sleep better with blankets on."

"That's okay," Lilith told him as she kicked hers off. "Have all of them. If you're gonna go to sleep, I will too." They snuggled next to each other, shut their eyes, and fell asleep for the night.

* * *

The next morning, Malachai went to check on Caleb and see if he'd gotten back from his date all right. He opened the door and saw Caleb and Lilith, both very naked, asleep on his bed. He looked at that for a moment, then quickly shut the door and ran back to his and Helene's room. That explained the noise last night. Helene owed him five dollars. And he hoped that Caleb would invite his new friend to breakfast and introduce her to the family. Wouldn't that be nice?

* * *

The next morning after they got dressed, Caleb and Lilith tried to get downstairs without attracting much attention, but of course, that wouldn't happen. Not with Sophia around, and everyone but them knowing that the whole house knew they were there.

"Look, Mommy!" She cried, coming to hug Lilith. "Uncle Caleb brought a friend to breakfast just like Grandpa said!"

"Wow," Todd got out with a chuckle. "A girl you just met and she's already spending the night? She must be good in bed!"

"Oh, shut your damn mouth!" Caleb cried.

"I think you're right," Sophia told Todd as she went to sit in his lap. "I think his penis likes her vagina."

"Sophia, you don't talk about stuff like that at the breakfast table," Jill warned.

"But Mommy, Uncle Caleb said-" Sophia began, but Jill cut her off.

"Please don't," she said firmly.

Sophia pouted and Lilith came and gave her a hug. "It's okay, sweetie. What's for breakfast? Why don't you show me?"

"All right," Sophia smiled and showed Lilith the collection of cereal and the box of doughnuts on the table next to the refrigerator. "You should have a chocolate one," she suggested, handing it to her new friend. "They're good!"

"You're right," Lilith smiled. "They are. Thank you for the suggestion."

As she sat down with Sophia in her lap and Helene brought her coffee, Caleb addressed Malachai. "What was Sophia saying about you telling everyone we were upstairs? How did you know?"

"How could we not know?" Percy asked. "You made enough noise to wake the dead with your giggling and splashing at two in the morning."

"You heard that?" Caleb asked. "Damn, so much for subtlety."

Lilith giggled. "And when you remember that you shushed me when we got home because you didn't want to wake everyone up…"

"You made just as much noise as me," Caleb told her. "This isn't all my fault!"

"It's no one's fault," Malachai assured him. "It's always nice to have someone new come to breakfast." He paused. "And another reason why they all knew is because I came to check on you this morning and when I looked in your room, you were both asleep on your bed."

"You saw us when we were asleep?" Caleb cried. Then he turned to Lilith. "See, this is exactly why we need to cover ourselves with blankets."

"I promise I didn't see anything," Malachai assured Lilith.

"It's okay if you did," she shrugged. "I'm not ashamed."

"Can I get you anything else, Lilith?" Helene asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"No, thanks," Lilith shook her head and drank her coffee. "What I have is perfect."


	18. John Returns

Ever since she'd seen the note on the window (which she looked at every day because no matter what she did, she couldn't scrub it off the window) Freya had wondered who had written it. She wanted it to be John _so_ badly. The only other person it could have been was Christian and he had been in the room with her the whole time. It had been John, for once his life, coming to protect his family. In her heart, she knew that.

Wanting answers for sure, she dialed his number to leave him a message, sighing dismay when she found his phone on their bedside table. "Damn it, John!" She whispered. "How could you just leave like this?" She stomped back to the living room and thought and thought about him, even though she knew she had no powers and that kind of communication probably wouldn't work.

* * *

When he hadn't shown up by nightfall, she went to bed, sleeping soundly until she woke up suddenly, finding a gaunt, hooded man standing over her, his eyes sunken, his face thin. She gasped and let out a shriek as he put a hand over her mouth. "It's me, John," he whispered. "I had to see you. Did you get my message? Don't scream, please."

He kept his hand over her mouth until he was sure she wouldn't scream again and betray his presence to Christian. Then, he let her go and sat next to her on the bed as they both lapsed into awkward silence.

Then, Freya cleared her throat. "Hi, John," she got out. "I would ask how you've been doing, but from the look of you, not well. Where were you, and did you eat at all there? You look terrifying!"

"I can't say I ate well," John told her. "I was holed up in a cave and didn't want to make too much of a fuss so I just ate whatever little animals came along and took their blood too."

"Well that couldn't have been much," Freya said and held out her wrist. "Here, take some from me."

"Thank you," John shook his head. "But I need more than you can give me, especially since you wouldn't heal right away."

"You could fix that you know," Freya reminded him. "Especially now that your little tantrum seems to be over."

"I realize that you want your powers back," John told her. "And they'll be returned to you in due time. But we have other things to worry about."

"Like weirdos who leave messages on our window that can't be erased?" Freya asked.

"That was me!" John told her. "I was trying to be nice! Don't shit all over one of the first good things I ever did for you."

"That was really you?" Freya asked in amazement. "I mean, I hoped it was. But it's nice to know that I was right. Would you care to expand on it? What threat is there against Sophia? How much danger is she in? I'm sure Christian would like to know."

"And I mean to tell him," John nodded. "But in the morning, after he's slept and is prepared to hear it. You need your rest too."

"I don't know if I'll be able to sleep after the fright you gave me," Freya replied. "Please go eat something. It hurts me to look at you."

"In that case, I'll go sleep on the couch too," John said. "Goodnight, Freya."

"Goodnight, John," she told him. He headed to the door and had his hand on the knob and his back to her when she spoke again. "And John?"

"What?" He asked tiredly.

"John, I'm glad you're back, for however long that is," she got out.

But when he turned around to reply to that stunning pronouncement, he saw that she'd already pulled the covers over herself and had fallen asleep.

* * *

Of course seeing his father on the couch when he came in for coffee the next morning was a big shock for Christian, and unfortunately for John, his reaction was to throw his coffee in his father's face.

"Damn it, Christian, that hurts!" He cried as he put his hands on his face to wipe the hot liquid off.

"Well, I'm sorry, but can you blame me?" Christian asked, handing John a towel. "What are you doing here? Does Mother know? I don't think she should have any shocks that can be prevented."

"Oh, she already knows," John told him. "She was the first person I saw when I came here this morning. When she set eyes on me, she screamed."

"That doesn't surprise me," Christian sighed and made himself another cup of coffee. "Do you have any idea what you look like?"

"Yes," John nodded. "I am aware that I'm not at my most handsome. But I intend to fix that. Do you still have blood around here even though you technically don't need it?"

"We do," Christian assured him. "Go ahead and take your fill. It's probably good that someone is using it."

After John had had a couple bags of blood and was working on a stack of waffles from the toaster, Christian sat down across from him and said, "We got a note about some threat toward Sophia. Do you know anything about that? You wouldn't be the threat, would you?"

"No!" John shook his head. "I mean, I don't blame you for thinking it was me, but it's not. It's someone far worse."

"Who would that be?" Christian asked, narrowing his eyes.

"It's Eric," John explained. "The leader of a horde of demons I teamed with to help me take over the world."

"And he's plotting to hurt Sophia?" Christian's jaw dropped. "Did you make her part of some deal? What's in it for you?"

"Nothing!" John exclaimed. "If I thought there was something in it for me, if I had had purely selfish motivations and something to do with this mess, I wouldn't have warned you about it."

"So what's going on?" Christian asked. "What's Eric got in store for Sophia?"

"He told me that she's going to be his wife someday," John shook his head. "I don't know more than that, so don't ask, but that alone sounds ominous enough, don't you think?"

"It's something we should look into for sure," Christian nodded. "Thanks for telling me."

"You're welcome," John replied and scarfed down another waffle.

"Do you want me to make you a _real_ breakfast?" Christian offered. "Bacon and eggs and all that? I will cause it looks like you need it."

"Really?" John asked in amazement. "You'd do that for me?" He picked up his waffles, walked over to the trash, and dumped the entire plate. "Thank you. I think I would like that much better."

It was the smell of bacon and eggs that roused Freya and brought her into the kitchen.

"Morning, Mom," Christian greeted her as she hugged him around the waist. "I'm making Dad some breakfast. You want any?"

"Sure," Freya nodded. "As long as it's not too much trouble. And I hope seeing your dad didn't shock you too much. I meant to come and warn you, but I was too tired."

"No, it's okay," Christian assured her. "I managed well."

"He threw hot coffee in my face!" John cried. "It was very painful!"

"Oh, stop whining," Christian shot back. "You healed right away which is more than can be said for _some_ people. When are you gonna give everyone's powers back?"

"I said it would happen in good time," John told him. "Be patient."

"How long can we afford that with a threat from Eric the demon looming over our heads?" Christian pressed.

"Oh, we have time, I'm sure," John said. "He won't do anything until Sophia is grown and she's just a little girl, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Christian nodded. "That's a real relief." He then stood up. "I'm gonna call Jill now and tell her what happened. Now, if she comes here, she probably won't be happy to see you, Dad, so…you wanna make yourself scarce?"

"You can stay in our bedroom until she leaves," Freya told him.

"No, I don't want to do that," John said and put his breakfast plate down. "I should probably go."

"You shouldn't go!" Freya shook her head. "If you leave, you'll just go hungry again. You'll probably die!"

"And what loss would that be to the world?" John wanted to know. "If I made sure everyone got their powers back before I was gone, no one would miss me."

"I would," Freya insisted. "You can be sweet sometimes."

"It's very kind of you to say, but after all the trouble I've caused, I don't think it's time for me to come back," John told her. "I came to warn you about Eric's plan and the danger it posed to Sophia, and now that I've done that, I'm leaving again. It's what's best for everyone, Freya. You know that." He then put a hand on her belly and Freya sucked in a nervous breath. "Take care of our baby, will you?" He asked. "And…tell her good things about me."

"For the millionth time, I don't know if it's a girl," Freya said and then kissed him. "But yes, I'll…I'll make sure not everything she hears about you is bad."

"Good," John thanked her. "And Christian, thank you for breakfast."

"You're welcome," Christian replied. As shocked as he had been to see his father, he was even _more_ shocked to see him leave so fast. "Take care of yourself, Dad."

"I will," John promised as he faded away. "Goodbye."

"What the hell was that?" Freya asked once he was gone. "Did I imagine your father being here? Did it happen? It just…it all happened so fast that it didn't seem real."

"Oh, it was real," Christian assured her as he picked up John's breakfast dishes. "And we've got the dirty plates and silverware to prove it."

* * *

"Christian?" Jill asked as she brought Sophia into the apartment not long after. "What's wrong? You sounded horrified on the phone. What's the problem?"

"I should have told you this sooner, and I'm sorry," He apologized as he showed her the window. "Dad wrote that."

"Your dad knows Sophia is in danger? How nice of him to warn us before he hurts her," Jill said as she held Sophia close.

"No, it's not him," Christian shook his head. "He was here, told us more about the threat, from a demon named Eric, and then left. According to him, This Eric, who has it in his head to marry Sophia someday, is a bigger problem. Which is why, even though I know the original plan was for us to stay apart, we need to change our course and close ranks instead. It would ease my mind more than the current arrangement."

Jill heard this and bristled. "What are you saying? That I'm incapable of protecting my daughter from threats so you have to be the big hero and save both of us? I can keep her safe. I'm a demon too, you know!"

"I _do_ know," Christian assured her. "I'm not trying to step on your toes or make you feel like a bad mother, but if this guy is bad enough that even my father feels the need to warn us about his plans, you can understand why I think Sophia needs as much of a guard as possible, don't you? If I wasn't scared as hell about both of you, I would let it go and let you handle it. You know that, don't you? Haven't I so far?"

Jill nodded and sighed. "Yes, I'm sorry for getting all defensive. It's just that all this scares me so much and the only way I can think of to deal with it is to get angry, you know? Even with you."

"Yes, I understand," Christian nodded.

"Mama, can we stay with Daddy?" Sophia begged. "Please?"

"Oh, I suppose that would be best," Jill told her with a sigh and handed her to Christian. "Based on what sort of language my brothers have been teaching you, it might be best for you to have some time away from them."

"What have they been teaching her?" Christian asked. "Bad words?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Jill shook her head. "It would just encourage her."

"Really bad words that make Mommy mad," Sophia told him, her face serious. "Like penis and vagina."

"Those are body parts!" Christian pointed out to Jill. "Not bad words."

"Even so, she shouldn't be blurting them out everywhere." She paused. "Now, if we're going to stay, where do you want to put us? Cause I don't want to displace your mother. She's gone through enough already."

"I was thinking I could put the two of you in the nursery," Christian replied. "Don't worry, I won't make you sleep with me until you want to."

"Thank you," Jill told him. "I didn't think otherwise."

* * *

When they got in the nursery, Jill asked Sophia, "Would you like to share the bed with Mommy, or turn the crib into a bed of your own?"

"I want a bed!" Sophia proclaimed.

"Somehow, I knew you would say that," Christian told her and changed the crib into a second, smaller bed for her to rest in as Jill zapped in suitcases. "Now, do you need help unpacking or do you have that under control?"

"Well, I think it goes without saying that I _am_ capable of doing it myself," she told him, making Christian nod and head toward the door. " _But_ ," she continued, giving him pause. "I wouldn't turn down any help you'd be willing to give."

"Oh," Christian turned and smiled. "All right."

He strode back and helped them put clothes in dressers and after their suitcases were empty, he sat on the bed between his two girls as they hugged him.

"Thanks for telling us about this," Jill commented and then gave him a kiss.

This made Sophia giggle loudly, and when they broke apart, Christian took her in his lap and tickled her. "And just what is so funny, young lady?" He asked.

"You and Mommy are kissing and that's funny!" Sophia told him. Then she made a face "Kissing is icky when you smash your faces."

"No, it's not," Christian said and smiled at Jill again. "Not if you like the person." He paused. "However, if someone tries to kiss you and you don't like it, it's perfectly okay to hit them and run away. Can you remember that?" He thought Jill would remonstrate him for encouraging Jill to be violent, but she just nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I can," Sophia nodded as he kissed her hair. "I remember that, Daddy."

* * *

Though Eric knew he was taking a tremendous risk, with Lilith seeing other men, he knew the time to change Sophia was at hand. He sneaked into her room and watched her sleep for a bit, her hair in her eyes. He moved it out of the way and then picked her up, hoping that she wouldn't awaken, and neither would Jill, who was sleeping soundly in the other bed beside her. He touched her, murmured the same spell he used before, watching as she became encapsulated in a white cocoon. He started to pace as he waited for her to grow, and emerge as the young woman who would be his queen. When it was time, the cocoon cracked open and she slowly emerged, naked and covered goo.

"What the hell was that?" She asked, looking right at him. She came closer and looked him in the eye. "And who the hell are you?"

"You'll find out," he said, grinning as he turned on the light and looked her over. "You're very beautiful. Did you know that?"

"Yeah, I know that," Sophia whispered. "You don't have to tell me. Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Eric," he replied, taking her in his arms. "And do you suppose we could have this conversation somewhere more private?"

"I would prefer not to have this conversation at all," Sophia replied as he took her by the hand and led her to a nearby bathroom, shutting the door behind them.

"Fine," he said. "We don't have to talk then. There are other things we can do instead and I like them better anyway." He pulled her to him and began to kiss her deeply as his hands roamed all over her body. She froze at first, wanting to move away, but then realized that she liked it, so she kept kissing him. But when he tried to put his hand between her legs, that's when she kneed him in the same place and gave him a good hard slap.

"Daddy was right," She said as he fell to the ground, swearing and moaning in pain. "If someone touches you and you don't want them to, all you gotta do is hit 'em really good and they'll stop." Then she stood over Eric. "I want you to go now," she said, her eyes red and little horns poking out from under her hair, and her gray skin contrasting marvelously with the blonde. "If you think what I do hurts, my daddy will hurt you even worse. He'll probably kill you. Leave and don't come back, and I won't say that you were here."

"I suppose that's the best way to go," Eric sighed, running his fingers through her curly blonde hair. "You're not ready for us to be together yet. I can see that now. I can't wait. I'm a very patient man. Goodbye, Sophia. I will return, I promise." He then made her forget that he was ever there, and once he was back at his house, he chuckled to himself, thinking of Sophia's parents' faces when they next saw their daughter. It was a very amusing picture. That was for sure.

* * *

The reality of it really wasn't amusing at all. Very confused, Sophia wrapped a towel around herself and ran back to her room to rouse her mother, who screamed at the sight of her.

"God, what in the world?" She cried and shot upright. "Who the hell are you? What are you doing in my room?" She gasped when she saw Sophia's empty bed. "And what have you done with my daughter?"

"Mom, relax!" Sophia urged, trying to calm her. "It's me, Sophia, I swear! I'm just big now!"

"Oh, damn, I just bought you clothes!" Jill huffed. "Don't tell me I have to do it again!"

"Apparently you do!" Sophia shrugged. Then she added, "You don't seem very surprised by this."

"Well, did you emerge from a cocoon?" Jill questioned. "Is that how you got big?"

"Yeah, Sophia nodded. "How did you know?"

"I saw the same thing happen to your dad," Jill told her. "You are not the first." She then went and got Christian, who reacted pretty much the same way.

"Well," He remarked as he looked her over. "How about that? You've grown."

" _That's_ an understatement," Jill sighed. Then she told her daughter, "Go ahead and take a shower. Then you won't be so gooey."

"Thanks," Sophia said. "That's a good idea."

"Are you going to be okay doing that yourself?" Christian asked. "Or would you like me to help you?"

"No, I think I can handle it," Sophia assured him. "But thanks, Daddy. Oh, and when I came out of the cocoon, there was a weird guy named Eric watching me. He kissed me and when he tried to touch me, I kicked him in his penis just like you told me!" She grinned. "I think it really, _really_ hurt him. Aren't you proud of me?"

"Yes," Christian nodded. "Very proud. Good job."

Sophia then left to shower, leaving her parents to look at one another with worry. "Did she say Eric was here?" Jill asked. "Do you think it's the same Eric your father warned us about?"

Christian sighed. "If it is and he was actually _in_ the house, defending ourselves against him is gonna be harder than I thought."

"But you think we can do it, right?" Jill questioned as she put her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. "We're not completely powerless against him?"

"Of course we're not," Christian assured her and held her against his heart. "We'll kick his ass. I promise."


	19. All Too Good To Be True

"Thanks for helping out so much," Roxie told Addie as she watched her daughter do another load of laundry after doing the dishes and vacuuming one afternoon. "I'm very grateful, but I think…I think you've recovered enough that if you want to leave and go somewhere, or see someone…you can go ahead."

"No, I don't need to do that," Addie told her firmly. "The only place the someone I would want to see is is the gym and after all that's happened, I don't know if I should go there."

"Well, as long as you stay away from the people selling the drugs I don't see why you would need to worry," Roxie said. "Not that I'm encouraging you to do something that would make you uncomfortable, but I just…I think it would be good for you to get out, get some fresh air."

Addie nodded and turned to face her mother. "I remember Patrick saying you called him to come and see me at the hospital. Does that mean you have his number? Can I see it?"

"Sure," Roxie replied and brought it up on her phone, then handed the phone to her daughter. Addie quickly wrote the number down and then ran to her room to make the call.

It took him some time to answer and she wondered why. She hoped it wasn't because he was ignoring her. That would just break her heart. Finally, though, she heard a voice on the other end of the line.

"Hello, this is Patrick."

"Hi, Patrick!" She cried, trying not to sound too eager and failing. "It's Addie. I just wanted you to know that I'm thinking of stopping by the gym tonight. Will I see you there?"

"Sure," Patrick told her. "I'm always here. But are you sure you're ready? Maybe you could come tomorrow after waiting one more day to make sure, especially if one of the reasons why you're coming is to see me. I'm very busy."

"That's fine," Addie replied. "I can wait, or I can see you later. Doesn't matter to me."

"Well, all right," Patrick sighed. "Go ahead and come. It's not like I can stop you. But please be careful."

"I will," Addie promised. "Don't worry about it." As she ended the call, nerves hit her. Why was he not pleased to hear from her? What did he mean when he said he was 'busy'? Busy with what? Another woman? Well, she would just have to nip that in the bud. After all she went through to be with him, she wasn't giving him up that easily! She threw some clothes in a gym bag, then told her mother she was going out, and not to wait dinner cause she didn't know how long she would be gone. Then she put the gym bag over her shoulder, got in her father's truck, and drove away.

* * *

Addie parked in front of the gym again, staring at it as she took a deep breath. Could she really go in there? Would it be a good idea? When she'd talked to Patrick, he'd been surprised to hear from her. Surprised and a little nervous, especially when she'd talked about coming to the gym again. He was probably concerned about her having a relapse, which was really sweet of him, but she had other things besides drugs on her mind tonight.

Feeling very resolute, she grabbed a gym bag full of clothes out of the backseat of the truck and went inside, heading straight for the ladies' room, where she changed into white lace panties and a bra and put a black trench coat over it. She zipped up and then asked the lady at the front desk if she knew where Patrick was.

"He's in a middle of a training session," she told her. "But I'm sure he wouldn't mind pausing it to see you." She pointed down a nearby hallway. "He's just down there, the third door on the right."

"Thank you," Addie told her and then eagerly ran to the door she'd pointed out, flinging it open and not hearing the cries of protest as she unzipped her jacket.

"Well, Patrick," she said in a saucy voice. "What do you think?"

"I think I'm a little busy," Patrick remarked as Addie finally noticed the pretty young woman with him, who was chained up by her wrists as he stretched her, his hand going down her leg and thigh. Addie could see all her goods because of the skimpy outfit she was wearing. She was only a little more covered up than Addie herself was, her long brunette curls just barely covering her ample chest.

"Oh," Addie backed up, blushing furiously, grunting as her butt hit the door of the room, which she then flung open. "I didn't know. Sorry I bothered you." She did up her coat and ran from the room, trying not to cry and then growling in frustration as she felt hot tears fall down her cheeks, then taking off again as she saw him come toward her, not knowing where she was going, just that she wanted to run away from him.

"Now wait just a minute!" Patrick called as he ran after her then finally cornered Addie in the ladies' locker room as she struggled to put her clothes on. "We have to talk about this. Don't you run away from me!"

"Oh, I think I will!" Addie cried. "I knew it was a mistake to come here! I do all this work to get clean and then I find you with another woman! Do you only like girls you can get high? Is that it?"

"No!" Patrick shook his head, grabbed her, and held her against himself after helping her put on her shirt. "I just wasn't sure that you would want me after everything that happened, so I…I moved on. I thought it would be best. That woman in there is Stacey. I train her."

"Train her as what?" Addie spat. "Your sex slave? You gonna whip her too?"

"No!" Patrick shook his head again. She was driving him crazy. "That's not it at all. Will you actually let me explain, or will you just keep yelling at me? We have a relationship where I help train her for a marathon she wants to run and in return, she…entertains me for a few hours a week. You didn't just expect me to be a monk, did you? But don't worry, nothing's actually happened. She doesn't have the same effect on me that you do."

Addie opened her mouth to tell him that she damn well better not when they heard a conversation from the hallway. It was Eric, who was talking about his plan for the demons with Lilith, which made Patrick put his hand over Addie's mouth and pull her into a nearby locker in case one or both of them came in the room, shutting the door and squishing both himself and Addie into the tiny space as Eric's voice sounded loud and clear from the hall. "Now, you said you were gonna work on Caleb, right? How's that going? You think he'll be a suitable host?"

"Yeah," Lilith agreed. "He's perfect. No doubt about that. And he's absolutely entranced by me."

"Wonderful!" Eric told her. "Good job. Next time you see him, that's when we'll work on getting him infested."

"All right," Lilith played along, trying to keep the enthusiastic tone in her voice even though all she really wanted to do was hit Eric until he was unconscious for putting her in a position where she had to act like she wanted to hurt the sweetest man in the world. "Sounds good to me!"

As they heard this, both Patrick and Addie tried not to breathe as they memorized every word that was being said. They were both very relieved when the voices became softer as the pair walked away from the locker room without coming inside.

They both took deep breaths after they did all the contorting that needed to be done to get themselves out of the locker.

"Well," Addie breathed. "We haven't been that close in a while. I think it was nice."

Patrick nodded and wiped his nose. "Sometimes you gotta take what you can get, don't you? Now, what do you think we should do about what we just heard?"

"Well, first we should shut the door before we talk about it," Addie remarked as she did just that. "We don't want to risk them hearing that we heard them and are plotting to turn the information against them, right?"

"Right," Patrick nodded. "We don't want to be as careless as they were."

When she was sitting down next to him, Addie took his hand and said, "So…are they talking about your brother? That's the only Caleb I know."

"Yeah, that sounded like Lilith," Patrick nodded. "She and Caleb have been hot and heavy lately. When they've been around here, they've spent a longer time in the shower than one would expect, if you know what I mean."

"Oh, yeah," Addie nodded and played with the necklace he wore. "Maybe we should do that. You want to?"

"At some point, yes," Patrick nodded. "Now we need to find my brother and tell him what he's gotten himself into." He began striding toward the door when Addie cleared her throat and stopped him cold. "What?" He asked. "I said I was sorry about Stacey. What more do you want from me?"

"Nothing," Addie assured him. "But isn't she still in the room waiting for you to do whatever it is you two do together? You don't want to just leave her waiting. That wouldn't be nice. You go tell her the session is over for today and I'll go look for your brother."

"All right," Patrick nodded. "But if you find him, don't tell him anything before I join you, all right?"

"Sure," Addie nodded. "I'll wait. I can do that."

"Thanks," Patrick said and kissed her hair before running off to break the news to Stacey.

Addie took a few seconds to register what he'd just done before running all over the gym to look for Caleb, hoping with all her might that he was there. When she didn't see him, she decided that she would have to drive to his house and tell him, but just as she left the gym, she ran into him coming in. "Oh, hi!" She remarked. "I was just looking for you."

"You were?" Caleb asked. "Why?"

"Patrick wants to talk to you so I said I would find you for him," Addie twisted her hair. "He should be here soon."

"What does he need to talk to me about?" Caleb questioned. "Is it bad? Did I miss a gym fee or something?"

"No," Addie shook her head. "It's about…about Lilith, but you should hear it from your brother because he's family and I'm not." She took out her phone and texted Patrick where she and Caleb were, and when he came to them, she stood a respectful distance away so they could chat in reasonable privacy.

"Addie said you needed to talk to me about Lilith," Caleb told Patrick in a hushed voice. "What's going on?"

"Well, what I'm gonna say right now is something that you probably won't believe a word of, and in fact, you'll probably hate me for saying it and not want to speak to me ever again, but you have to know: I don't think Lilith really likes you," Patrick got out. "I think she's some sort of demon who wants to use you for her own gain or something."

Caleb's jaw dropped but before he could say anything, Patrick hurried on.

"I know it might seem unbelievable, but Addie and I were in the girls' locker room and the door was open. Lilith came walking by with some guy and they were talking about how you would make the perfect host for an infestation and it didn't bode well for you. Save yourself and get the hell away from her," Patrick insisted, putting his hands on his brother's shoulders. "Please?"

"All right," Caleb nodded, realizing that everything with Lilith had seemed too good to be true. "I'll be careful. Thanks for letting me know. You're a good brother, Patrick."

Then he strode over to Addie. "And thanks to you too."

"You're welcome, but I didn't really do anything," Addie told him.

"You did more than you know," Caleb told her and then, after giving her a nod, he strode into the gym, the door swinging shut behind him.


	20. What We Need More Than Anything Else

After seeing how easily Caleb had been duped and hearing that a whole horde of demons was looking to infest innocent, powerless people, Addie decided that she needed to make everyone in the family aware. Not wanting her mother to worry, she decided to call someone else instead: her Grandpa Klaus. "Would you do something for me?" She asked him. "It's very important!"

"Of course," Klaus told her. "What do you need? If you need groceries I would be more than happy to run to the store-"

"No, no, we're fine with food!" Addie told him. "I might know something about the status of all our powers and I want to talk to everyone about it. Could you pick a sibling and spread the message?"

"Oh, of course!" Klaus brightened. Hearing this was the first good thing that had happened all day. "Why don't we have the meeting at your grandmother's house? You know my brother won't go anywhere else. And you also know that she never misses a chance to put out snacks."

"Grandpa, are you okay?" Addie asked. "I've never heard you talk about food this much before."

"Amy seems to think I need to go on a diet and I haven't been able to think of much else," Klaus explained.

"Ah," Addie replied. "Sorry about that."

"Yeah," Klaus huffed. "Me too. But this might be a good distraction. The calls will be made, that's for sure."

"Thanks, Grandpa," Addie told him. "I appreciate it. And say 'Hi' to Amy for me, will you?"

"I will," Klaus assured her. "Definitely."

* * *

Despite her poor grandfather's diet situation and one track mind about that, he managed to do what he'd promised and soon, he, most of his siblings, his father, and Malachai along with their spouses were sitting in Selina and Elijah's kitchen, waiting to see what she had to say.

Patrick and Addie stood in front of them and she cleared her throat. "I forgot to mention something to you about why you were brought here. It still has to do with us getting our powers back, but while we're waiting, we have to be on our guard. Apparently, a bunch of demons have come and are looking for human hosts…like us."

"They're led by a guy named Eric," Patrick added. "I see him a lot at the gym I go to."

"Well, this is just ridiculous!" Mikael cried as he brought his fist down on the table. "Who are these demons to think they can possess us?"

"They're demons and we have no powers," Selina told him. "They can do whatever the hell they want."

"I've heard about Eric," Freya offered. "John told me and Christian about him when he thought Eric was a threat to Sophia."

"You've seen John?" Klaus launched himself at his sister. "Did you tell him we want our powers and we want them now?"

"Yes, it was mentioned," Freya said. "We'll get them back, Niklaus, don't worry. I don't know when, but we will. Calm down, would you?"

"No, I will _not_ calm down!" Klaus huffed. "Look at me! That asshole husband of yours has deprived me of my whole self! Look at what I've become!"

"That's really your own fault, Niklaus," Elijah replied. "You could be just as you were before with the use of some self-control, but that apparently is a foreign idea to you."

"Oh, shut up!" Klaus spat. "Do you talk to your wife that way too when she has the same problem?"

"I _thought_ I was gonna have the same problem at first," Selina told him. "But…but I've been doing pretty well with eating. Been getting my exercise and doing everything in moderation. It's really been working for me."

"Well, isn't that convenient?" Klaus glowered. "Just when I need you for things, you let me down."

Selina rolled her eyes. "I don't think it's a good idea for you and I to have this pattern," she said. "It was one thing in the twenties for you to be my enabler and encourage me to do all sorts of bad things. Overdo it with blood, kill people with impunity just because I could…I needed that after all the repression. It was just something that needed to happen. But now I've learned that there are better ways to handle my urges than just give into them."

"What did you do to her?" Klaus asked his brother. "You ruined her!"

"I am _not_ ruined!" Selina shook her head. "I'm _improved_!"

Mikael shook his head. "Or you're just the best damn actress I've ever met."

"Well, at least you think I'm good at something," Selina replied.

"Hey, can we focus here?" Addie broke in. "The longer we bicker the more likely it is that something bad will happen."

"What is it that you want us to do?" Kol asked her. "And what makes you think we can accomplish anything useful against a bunch of demons without our powers?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you dealt with trouble before you had powers before, right?" Helene asked. "If we've all become so dependent on our magic to accomplish anything that we're just giving up now without even trying to think of non-magic solutions, then the demons have already won, haven't they?"

"I agree that it's just awful to give up now, but what do you suggest we do instead?" Gwen asked her. "How can a bunch of humans do anything effective against demons?"

"We can't!" Klaus exclaimed. "That's why Freya needs to get that damn husband of hers to give us all our powers back. He's had his fun! We've had enough!"

"He's not my husband!" Freya cried. "We've never even talked about it!"

"Well you're on your second child, obviously," Kol smirked. " _Shouldn't_ you talk about it? Or do you intend on being a strumpet for the rest of your life?"

"Oh, why don't you just drop dead, Kol?!" Freya cried, trying to launch herself over the table at him but being hindered by the fact that her belly was in the way.

"All right, all right, enough!" Elijah cried as he and Amy pulled Freya back while Kol smirked at her from the other side of the table. "How are we supposed to work together to defend ourselves if we can't go five seconds without picking a fight?"

"Don't blame me!" Freya told him. "Kol started it!"

"Yes, and you're the eldest," Mikael reminded her. "It's your job to set an example."

"Oh, fuck all of this!" Freya huffed and adjusted the skirt of her black maternity dress. "I want to go home! Can we come up with something useful so I can be on my way and not have to spend any more time with you people?"

"Well, you're no burst of sunshine either," Kol told her.

"Don't push it!" Margot remonstrated. "She's right. If we're just gonna sit here and fight, we might as well go home."

"I don't mean to harp on this," Amy told Freya apologetically. "But _is_ there a timeline for when our powers will be returned? Because my daughter Savannah's husband really can't manage without his powers. He's been spending night after night among his books looking for an answer, drinking cup of coffee after cup of coffee to keep himself awake and just the other day, he was put in the hospital for a caffeine overdose! He went into cardiac arrest and thank goodness they were able to save him. They're still working on his jitters and sleeplessness and getting him right again is not going to be pretty." Then she frowned at Klaus, who was smirking, before kicking him under the table. "Stop laughing about that. It's not the least bit funny."

"Oh, I know, but you're always yelling at me about _my_ way of dealing with all this, but at least _I_ wasn't dumb enough to pick something that would put me in the hospital." He then turned and looked at Selina, hoping he'd give her an answer he liked if he asked his earlier question again. "You wouldn't happen to have any cupcakes or cookies or anything around, would you?"

"I do, but I don't know if you should have them," Selina told him firmly. "If you need to eat something, there are bananas and apples on the counter."

Klaus sighed and went to grab an apple, glaring at her as he took a bite, wiped the juice off his face, and swallowed as Amy mouthed 'Thank you' to her friend and Selina gave her a wink.

"Then she said, "I'm so sorry to hear about Jonathan. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not that I can think of," Amy shook her head. "But I will definitely pass on to Savannah that you'd like to do something for them. Maybe you can go pay Liam and Mary a visit. Liam needs someone to talk to about this after being Mary's emotional support for so long, especially since it's added onto Sean being away in Europe and not writing as much because of his working to be a doctor."

"Junior's working on becoming a doctor?" Selina asked. "Good for him, that's wonderful!" She sighed. "Daddy says it's tougher for Sarah to move on, but after what happened, how can you blame her? His daughters aren't exactly known for their ability to move on smoothly after a big trauma." She sighed.

"Yes, but eventually they manage, even if it takes time," Elijah told her. "I think Sarah will find her way. I really do."

Just then, Amy's phone rang. She talked for a bit and then ended the call. "That was Savannah," she announced to the table. "Jonathan's well enough to have visitors now, so Klaus and I need to go."

"Oh, but I don't _want_ to!" Klaus whined.

"If you come and walk around the hospital with me and don't complain about Jonathan, we'll count that as your exercise for the day," Amy promised.

"And can we stop and get some fast food on the way home?" Klaus asked.

"Maybe, but don't push your luck," Amy told him. "Again, it all depends on how well you behave."

"You're lucky I love you," Klaus huffed as he followed her out the door. "Or I wouldn't put up with any of this nonsense."

With Klaus and Amy gone, the general consensus on the meeting was that while everyone would do their best to watch out for demons, but the only way things would actually get done was if John gave everyone their powers back.

"And I'll see what I can do about that," Freya promised irritably. "But now John's in a cave somewhere and I forgot to tell him to bring his phone and his charger before he left so now all I can do is hope that he leaves another note on our window sometime soon so I know where to reach him."

"Oh, you're an intelligent girl," Mikael told her. "I'm sure you can actually think of something useful to do with yourself besides just sitting around and waiting."

"Of course," Freya nodded and put a hand on her belly. "Cause it's not like I don't have anything _else_ to worry about at the moment. I'll just get my lazy, good for nothing ass up and try and make myself useful."

"That's not what he meant, I'm sure," Gwen assured her. "You just keep on doing what you're doing. Nothing more. It was nice to see you again. I would suggest you come and visit but considering what your father just said to you, I don't think you'd want to come." She then pushed Mikael out the door and Kol and Margot followed soon after.

"Did you know the meeting was going to be like this?" Patrick asked Malachai, who'd not had a chance to even say a word over everyone else's talking before everything fell into chaos and fighting. "At least we got a chance to say what we came to say."

"I'm sorry," Helene apologized and put her arms around him. "I should have tried harder to get you some time to talk."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Malachai replied and ran his fingers through her hair. "I don't know what I could have contributed that was meaningful anyway. I mean, once we get our magic back, I suppose I can have the coven bunch pull something together, but I don't know how else I could have helped at the moment." He then looked hopefully at Helene. "Maybe we can go visit your parents and I can think of something useful to do for them."

"That's a good idea," Helene remarked. "Let's go."

When everyone was gone and it was just Selina and Elijah sitting alone at the kitchen table, Selina let out a breath. "Well, that went better than I thought it would."

"I'm so proud of you for how you handled my brother," Elijah praised. "If I'm going to be completely honest, I thought you were just going to give in and surrender whatever he asked for. Cause while you've handled your diet remarkably well, he _does_ inspire you to give in to some of your worst habits."

"I thought about it, but I didn't want to let Amy down," Selina replied. She got up and headed to the refrigerator. "I'm gonna make myself a little strawberry sundae. You want one? It's just fruit and ice cream."

"Sure," Elijah nodded. "Why not? I would love one."

* * *

Despite what he'd heard about Lilith from Patrick and Addie, Caleb decided to see if what they said was true for himself before he took any drastic measures like breaking up with her. He'd keep it in the back of his mind, of course, but there was no need to ruin a perfectly good sexual relationship just because they were panicking. It might be nothing.

His resolve was put to the test the following Friday night when she showed up at his house with a picnic basket in hand, wearing tiny jean shorts, brown wedge sandals, and a white button down sleeveless shirt. "Hello," he smiled as he invited her inside.

"Hi," she grinned, putting the basket down for a moment and grabbing him to give him a kiss. "I thought that if you weren't busy, I could repay you for our last date by inviting you to come on a moonlit picnic with me. Would you like that, or is it too cheesy?"

"No, I would love to," Caleb said. "Thank you so much for asking. Helene decided to experiment with something involving Brussel sprouts tonight and I don't think I can handle that."

"Well, good I showed up, then," Lilith grinned at him. He excused himself for a moment to go and tell Helene and Malachai he was going out, and then he took Lilith's hand and let her lead him out of the house.

"You wanna take my car?" He asked Lilith. "We can put the basket in the trunk and that way you won't have to carry it."

"Oh, I don't think that's necessary," Lilith shook her head, her dark eyes bright. "It's a warm night and the moon is out. Let's just walk." She paused and held the basket out to him. "However, if you don't want me holding onto this, would you mind taking it, please? And be careful, there's a bottle of wine in there."

"That explains the heft," Caleb remarked. "If you brought wine, you must've seemed pretty sure I would say 'Yes'."

"Well, what reason would you have to refuse me?" Lilith smiled, her teeth shining. "I can't think of any."

"Neither can I," Caleb told her as he tried to ignore Patrick's words about her and her need to use him for a demon infestation or whatever the hell it was he said. That was the _last_ thing he wanted to think about now.

They walked to a nearby park and set the picnic up in the empty bandstand so they could eat and watch the moon and stars at the same time. As they unpacked the picnic basket, Caleb remarked, "Night dinners seem to be our thing, don't they? Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just an observation."

"Well, personally I've always found nighttime to be _much_ more romantic than daytime," Lilith replied. "Do you agree with me?"

"Yeah," Caleb nodded. "I think I do. You want some wine?"

"Yes, please," Lilith replied as she pounced on the vegetable tray and began plunging carrots into ranch dip.

As Caleb himself was not in a vegetable mood, he went for the potato salad, and that was followed up by some club sandwiches and mini flatbread cheese pizzas. "Where did you find time to make all this stuff? Cause you did a very good job!"

Lilith blushed. "Thanks for the compliment, but I didn't make _all_ of it. That's okay with you, right?"

"Yeah," Caleb nodded. "That's fine. No worries."

"I'm glad you like it though," Lilith told him. "And I'm…I'm really glad you wanted to come out with me tonight because there's something I want to discuss with you. It's about us."

Caleb's heart skipped a beat. "Yeah?" He asked. "What is it? It's not anything bad, right?"

"Oh, no, of course not!" Lilith assured him. "It's something really _good_ , actually. Well, at least _I_ think it is, anyway. You might think differently, but I'll just put it out there, anyway. Eric and I…things have changed between us and I believe he's finally decided to move on from me, thank god, so…I think it would be nice if you and I became exclusive. I mean, these make out sessions, sexual encounters, and picnics are nice, but…I like you enough that I want more." She reached out to take his hand. "Don't you feel that way about me?"

As Caleb stared at her and gave her a tight-lipped smile, Patrick's voice sounded in his head again, but this time, he didn't try and block it out. " _I don't think Lilith really likes you…I think she's a demon who wants to use you for her own gain…Lilith came walking by and she was talking with some guy about how you would make a perfect host for an infestation…"_

"Caleb? Caleb, look at me! Didn't you hear what I asked you?" He opened his eyes and saw to his shock that Lilith's were completely black. "Why aren't you answering me?"

"Oh, I, um…" He grabbed the wine and chugged some of it down. "Sorry. Wow. You and me being exclusive. Wow. This is really kind of sudden and I don't think I'm ready for it."

"How can you not be ready for it?" Lilith asked, grabbing his hand in her cold, slippery-feeling one. "Am I just a piece of ass to you?"

"No, of course not!" Caleb shook his head and tried to pull away because her face, that horrible demon face, was terrifying him, especially since it was lit by the full moon overhead. "I can't say I'm not flattered that someone as pretty as you wants to be in a steady relationship with me, but I'm not ready for that and if you can't just go back to the way things were between us before you decided to spring this idea on me, then maybe…maybe you should be with someone else. Someone else who's more used to dating a lizard like you. Or a corpse, or whatever the hell it is you are. Maybe Eric will take you back. Because I'm not going to be used for anything by you and your _kind_ anymore." He finally wrenched his hand from hers, grabbed the wine bottle, and ran away from her as fast as he could, even though he knew it was terrible manners to leave a woman in a gazebo in the park in the middle of the night. Her angry yelling for him to come back, that whatever he thought was happening between them wasn't true, didn't end his desire to run from her. That was for sure. But he assuaged his guilt by reminding himself that she was a demon. If anything happened, the other person would probably come out of it _much_ worse than she did.


	21. A Baby And A Breakup

Unfortunately for Caleb, if he thought he would be able to stride away from Lilith and end things between them without a word, he was sorely mistaken. She wanted the last word and she would get it. After stewing in her anger for a few days, when she was tired of Eric's smirking and laughter, she let out a cry, left the house, and drove to Caleb's, pounding repeatedly on the door and shouting his name. When the door opened, she started to yell, but stopped short when she saw it wasn't Caleb she was faced with, but a young blonde woman.

"Oh, hi," she blushed. "I was expecting someone else."

"I heard," the girl smiled. "You probably don't recognize me. I'm Sophia."

Lilith's jaw dropped. "What? How?"

"I don't really want to talk about it," Sophia shuddered. "If you want to talk to my uncle, you can come in and do it. He's locked himself in his room and doesn't want to talk to anyone."

"Well, I came just in time then," Lilith grinned. "Didn't I?"

"Can I ask what happened with the two of you?" Sophia questioned. "Or is it too personal?"

"No, it's not," Lilith sighed and pushed some of her dark hair out of her eyes. "In fact, you're one of the few people who would actually understand."

Sophia nodded and led her to sit down on the couch.

"We went out and had a picnic for dinner the other night, and I…I told him that I thought we should be exclusive," Lilith explained. "I thought he liked me enough that he would agree to that. But instead, he acted like I asked him to do something horrible, like murder someone." She sighed. "Then I got frustrated and I'm pretty sure my face changed and it freaked him out, so he took the wine and ran off, leaving me in the park in the middle of the night! Not that anything would have actually happened to me, but it's still bad manners, don't you think?"

"Well, yeah," Sophia nodded. "No wonder you didn't want to tell him when I said you should."

"You were small," Lilith put a hand on her shoulder. "And as far as you knew, your uncle was okay with demons since he'd adjusted to you being one." She shrugged. "But apparently he can't give me the same benefit of the doubt for some reason."

"Do you still want to talk to him?" Sophia wondered. "I can take you to his room."

"Oh, of course," Lilith nodded. "He's not gonna do what he did to me and then get away with it."

"I should hope not," Sophia stood up. "Follow me."

* * *

"You and I, we need to talk!" Lilith cried as she kicked Caleb's door in.

"Oh, fuck!" He cried, looking at her in shock. "Are you insane? We're broken up! What are you doing here?"

"Don't act like you're the only one who gets to be the victim after our last date!" Lilith told him. "You left me in the park in the middle of the night!"

"Why did you do that?" Sophia asked him. "That's not very nice!"

"He got upset about me being a demon!" Lilith told her again, even though she wanted an answer from her uncle instead. "I just told you that. He told me he didn't want to date someone like me, and he never would because he hates the idea, and he just left."

Sophia gave Caleb time to deny this, but when he didn't, and refused to look either her or Lilith in the eye, she frowned and punched him.

"What did you do that for?" Caleb asked and put his hand over his eye.

"You ditched her because you hate demons?" Sophia grouched. "Does that mean you hate me? You can't hate her because she's a demon and say you like me. Apologize to her."

"You don't understand!" Caleb cried. "She's going to use me for evil things!"

"No, I'm not!" Lilith shook her head. "What would make you think that?"

Caleb opened his mouth to tell her about what Patrick and Addison had heard, but then he realized that it would be the dumbest thing in the world to tell someone so evil that he knew her plan. If she knew that, she would probably kill him! "I can't tell you," he finished lamely. "It's my own secret."

"And that's it?" Sophia huffed. "That's all you have to say? She's not even gonna get an 'I'm sorry' out of you?"

"What did I do wrong?" Caleb wanted to know. "You tell me what I did wrong and I'll apologize."

"All right," Sophia cleared her throat, shut her eyes tight, and focused really hard, thinking of poor Lilith and all she had gone through. She felt her face change, her horns sprout from her head, and grinned at her uncle's expression. His eyes widened a little, but he stayed in his chair.

"So you're showing me your demon face," he told her. "What's your point?"

"Well, you just illustrated it, didn't you?" Sophia got out in her distorted demon growl. "You look at me and you're not scared. "You don't run away. Why can't you do the same with Lilith, you hypocrite?!"

Caleb sighed. "Fine, I'll…I'll tell you everything, but I just know you're going to react badly and then word will get around and I'll have a big red bullseye on my chest."

"How could I possibly react any more badly than I did when you ditched me?" Lilith asked.

"Yeah!" Sophia agreed. "Come on, Uncle Caleb! Spit it out!"

Caleb shut his eyes, took a breath, and said, "The other day, my brother Patrick heard you and Eric talking. He was saying something about you using me as a host for some sort of infestation and how you were only pretending to like me so you could use me for your demon stuff. When you said that we should be exclusive, I just assumed that was the reason why and I wanted to get the hell out of dodge as soon as possible. Now, I've told you the truth, so will you go away? Please? Go find some other demon to be with. You'd be more comfortable with a monster anyway."

"No one could be more of a monster than you're being at the moment," Sophia informed him. Then she said to Lilith, "Let's go, I don't think there's a point to being around here anymore."

"No," Lilith shook her head. "I really don't think there is." But as she passed him, she paused. "It's a real shame," she said. "Cause I do really like you and I think we could have had something. But I guess some things you just can't get past, right?"

Caleb made a noise in his throat and then Sophia pulled Lilith out into the hallway, just as the bedroom door closed with a final _click_ behind them.

* * *

Tired of her family's constant nagging about John, Freya finally decided to just go and find him, even though she was days away from her due date.

"I have to come with you," Christian said. "You can't go alone! What if you go into labor? How will you get help?"

"Oh, I can handle it," Freya assured him. "I've lived in far less ideals times and experienced far from perfect situations before. It's sweet of you to worry about me, though. Besides, you need to stay here with Jill and Sophia."

"Sophia said she wanted to go stay with Malachai and Helene for a bit," Christian told her. "So that's one less thing for us to worry about. So I could still come with you."

"I said I don't need you to," Freya repeated. "But if you need to do something, you can help me pack."

Christian sighed, wanting to press his mother further, but then giving up because he realized that it would do him no good.

* * *

"What are you all packing for?" Jill asked curiously. Then her eyes lit up. "Are you going into labor? Is the baby coming?"

"No," Freya shook her head and shifted position a little to try and ease pain in her back. "She's still very much stuck in there. I'm going to try and find John so I can get everyone's powers back cause my family won't shut up about it."

"Do you even know where he is?" Jill questioned.

"No, and this is why I'm offering to come with her, but she's not going for it," Christian told his wife. "Maybe you can convince her. You know, talk woman to woman or whatever."

But Jill caught Freya's eye and shook her head. "No, I really don't think I will," she said. "Your mother doesn't need my advice and if she wants to trek around to find your father, that's her business."

"Thank you!" Freya cried. "At least _someone_ in this house respects my decisions."

"You're welcome," Jill told her.

"At least take your phone and send me some sort of indication every day you're gone that you're not hurt or dead, please," Christian said. "Can you do that for me? Please?"

"Sure," Freya nodded. "I can do that."

"Thank you," Christian hugged her the best he could. "Then I guess all there is to say is 'Good luck on your trip'."

"Yeah," Freya nodded. "It would seem so."

* * *

"Oh, my god, when you say you're gonna hide, you really mean it, don't you?" Freya said to a stunned John as she came upon him, a bag of food in hand after what seemed like an eternity of searching. "Do you know how many caves I've looked in to find you?"

"What are you doing here?" John demanded, his hood falling to his neck. "You can't be here! Go home!"

"No!" Freya shook her head and stomped toward him. "Everyone in my family wants their powers back, and they won't shut up about it, so if I'm coming home, you're coming with me. The two of us will go together." Then she froze, reaching out for John's hand. "Shit!" She swore as the food bag fell to the floor and spilled everywhere. "Shit, oh, god no! Not here! Anywhere but here! Christian will _not_ be right!"

"What?" John asked, taking a break from eating to show concern for her. "What's the matter?"

"The baby's decided to come, and it's coming now," Freya exclaimed. "I guess I've been in labor since this morning, but I was just hoping it was a bad stomachache. You're gonna have to help me. I don't care if you don't know what you're doing."

"It's okay," he assured her, wincing as she squeezed his hand hard. "This isn't the first baby I've delivered."

"Oh, really?" Freya asked as he zapped her up a bed and helped her to lie down. "When did you deliver others?"

Apparently, she'd forgotten about the whole episode with Junior's girlfriend Sarah and their child, which was good, so he just decided to make up a lie. "Well, you know how long I've been around," he pointed out. "Isn't it possible that in all that time, I've delivered at least one baby?"

"Oh, good point," Freya nodded and shut her eyes as helped her get out of her pants and underwear and covered with a blanket. "I should have worn a damn dress. I don't know why I didn't."

"You probably weren't expecting to go into labor," John replied. "You like things to happen exactly when they're convenient for you and not before and in this case, the child didn't listen."

"Yeah, obviously," Freya winced, gritting her teeth as she wished passionately for something to bite on. The contractions were getting worse and worse and she had a feeling that the child would be coming any minute. "Get ready," she told John. "It hurts so bad, how could the baby not be coming?"

* * *

But the child fooled its mother and more than twelve hours later, Freya was still pushing and screaming on the bed.

"Is it coming yet?" John asked. "How are you feeling?"

"Not well," Freya huffed. "Maybe we should get up and find a hospital. Why the hell is it taking so damned long?"

"My mother was in labor with me for a long time, apparently," John answered dryly. "I'm surprised she didn't hate me for it." He paused. "How can I help short of operating on you and pulling the child out? I don't know how to do that."

"I don't know," Freya replied and then let out another screech. "Just keep talking and distract me."

John put his hand on Freya's belly and said, "Child, you are wearing your mother out. No more dawdling now. It's time to be born. Do you understand me?"

Not long after, Freya felt something that made her almost cry with joy. "I feel the head coming out!" She told John. "Have a look."

So he did and saw to his amazement that she was correct: a baby was now in sight. He zapped up some towels and after she pushed a few times, the baby emerged, a little girl with dark hair. He looked down at her and sighed, watching as she wailed loudly in his arms. Dear god, he'd been right all along.

"What do we have?" Freya asked, breaking into his thoughts.

"A girl," John said, turning and handing the baby to Freya. "Just like I told you."

"It looks like her name will be Ingrid then," Freya smiled. "If that's all right with you, John."

"Yes," John nodded. "That's fine." He backed away. "You know, I…I think I need something else to eat."

"You're not scared of the fact that you have a daughter, are you?" Freya questioned. "You know, if you actually spend time with her, she most likely won't hate you. And I bet she's gonna look like you."

John looked up. "Do you really think so?"

"Yeah," Freya nodded and asked him to get a bucket of water to clean Ingrid off with. "I do. Just give her a chance. If you like me, you can like her."

"Yeah," he said, taking another look at his daughter once she was clean. "I suppose I can."

He got even _more_ time to bond with her as Freya took a call from a very worried Christian. "Are you okay?" He hollered. "Why didn't you call me yesterday? Did something happen?"

"You were right," Freya told him. "I went into labor. Fortunately, it was after I found your dad, so he helped me. You have a little sister now."

"How does Dad feel about that?" Christian wanted to know.

Freya looked at John, who was just sitting in a corner of the cave and staring at the baby he held. "I—I think he's getting used to her," she said. "I'll probably be home in a few days."

"All right," Christian nodded. "Take care of yourself, and I can't wait to meet Ingrid!"

She ended the call and went to join John. "Things seem to be going well over here, but I can take her if you want," She told him.

John held his daughter to himself as if Freya were threatening to kidnap her, then relaxed a little. "I suppose there's something I need to do now that we have an infant," he said. He handed Ingrid to Freya, and then he kissed her. That action alone was shocking enough, but so was the surge of power that Freya felt go through her body, and when he pulled away, she felt warm all over.

"What just happened?" She asked.

"I…I gave you your powers," John told her. "With Eric looking to exploit every weakness I have, neither of us can afford to be powerless."

"Excellent, thank you," Freya told him. "And as long as you are also planning on giving powers back to _everyone._ My family insisted that I ask you for that next time I see you."

"Oh, all right," John sighed. "I suppose, for your sake, I'll give everyone's powers back."

"Thank you," Freya smiled and cuddled her daughter. "That really means a lot, John."


	22. All Eyes On Me

"Thanks for meeting me here," Sophia said to Lilith when she met her at the park a few days later. "I wasn't sure you would want to talk to me since you and Uncle Caleb are on the outs now."

"Oh, don't be silly!" Lilith told her and motioned for her to come sit next to her on a park bench. "Our relationship has nothing to do with what's going on between me and your uncle." She paused and smiled when Sophia sat down. "So…what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I hope you're not offended by this cause I don't mean it that way, but…did you ever have bad intentions toward me? Were you gonna use me as a vessel too?"

"Oh, no!" Lilith shook her head. "You have enough problems with Eric as it is without me adding to them." She paused. "But I would be lying if I said there wasn't a time where I didn't wish you ill because you were all Eric could talk about. I wondered just why you were so special. But then I met you and I just…I stopped thinking about that. Stopped thinking of anything to do with him."

"Ah," Sophia nodded. "Just like when you met Uncle Caleb and you realized you liked him."

"Yeah," Lilith nodded and shifted position on the bench a bit. "Exactly. At first I wanted to just have sex with him cause it's what we demons do. But then I met him and…and I felt human, you know? Eric said it would happen and that I needed to be careful. I didn't believe him, but with Caleb, there it was." She blushed a deep red and Sophia pretended not to notice.

"Well, I'm glad you like me now because with how determined Eric is to come after me, I'm gonna need all the help to go against him that I can get," she told her. "Thanks a lot." Then she scooted closer to her and asked, "Do you…do you know what Eric's plans are for me? I'd like to know what he's getting me into."

"Okay, I'll tell you," Lilith nodded as she leaned in close. "But if I do, you have to promise not to tell Eric that I said anything. Just keep it to yourself, please."

"Of course!" Sophia nodded. "Telling Eric anything, associating with him more than I have to, is exactly the _last_ thing I would do."

"All right," Lilith cleared her throat. "Eric has it in his head that it will be good for demonkind in general if we mix with humans. You're the first human-baby hybrid and Eric thinks that if you join with him and be his queen, you could create the most powerful race of demons in existence."

It took some time for Sophia to speak again after she heard this because her mouth was dropped in shock. "This is bad," she said at last. "This is really, _really_ bad. Cause I'm not…I'm not human. Not really. I'm a witch. I have magical powers."

"That's probably what Eric meant then, when he said your children would be super powerful," Lilith nodded. "Makes sense."

"Is he nuts or what?" Sophia questioned. "No one should have that much power. The people who would use it responsibly probably wouldn't want it and the people that do…well, I don't want to think about what they would do with it." She got up off the bench and began to pace, stopping only when Lilith spoke again.

"It might not be all bad," she got out. "I mean, he's really good in bed, if you're worried about that. Not as good as Caleb, but still really good."

"Thanks for the info, but I'm not gonna sleep with him," Sophia scoffed. "That'll never happen. Not in a million years!"

"Well, then you clearly don't know Eric," Lilith told her with a knowing look. When he wants something, he's both very persistent and very stubborn. If he wants you, he won't drop the pursuit until he gets you."

Sophia scoffed. "I hope he's ready for a tough chase then," she said. "Cause that's what he's gonna get. I'm not just gonna lie down and give him what he wants."

"That might make him want you more, though," Lilith pointed out. "For him, the thrill of the chase is everything. The more you resist him, the more he'll want you." She frowned. "Can I ask you something?" She wanted to know.

"Sure," Sophia nodded. "Go ahead."

"How do you still remember him?" Lilith asked curiously. "He always said that when he came to visit you and make you grow, he would put a spell on you to make you forget after."

Sophia shrugged. "I don't know for sure. All I know was that I wanted my father to know what was going on, so I fought Eric making me forget. Maybe I'm more powerful than I realize."

"What sort of demon are you again?" Lilith questioned. "What color are you when you change again?"

"Gray," Sophia got out.

"Well, that explains it and I don't know why Eric thought he could still try and do a spell on a full grown gray one and hope it would stick," Lilith remarked.

"Are gray ones super powerful?" Sophia questioned. "More powerful than every other kind of demon?"

"Well, we all have our strengths," Lilith told her. "White ones, like myself and Eric, we're alluring. We can attract people to us and use them to do our bidding more than the other species can, and gray ones, well, your mental powers are the strongest. You're the hardest to fight because you're the best at defense. And that's probably why Eric wanted to mate with a gray one, although it's not common for demon species to intermarry."

"It's not?" Sophia wondered.

"No," Lilith shook her head. "It's not. We'll be with humans before we marry outside our own demon kind. I don't know exactly why, but it's how it's always been. Although Eric's moving to change that because he's finally realized that mixing species and mixing powers could make for a damn powerful hybrid." She paused. "But you probably don't want to talk about that anymore, do you?"

"No," Sophia shook her head. "Let's talk about how I might start visiting the gym. Don't you think that's a good idea? I could get to know some other demons!"

"Are you crazy?!" Lilith asked, grabbing her arm and giving her a little shake. "That's suicide with Eric running the place!"

"Ah, but he thinks I've forgotten him," Sophia reminded her. "Only you and I know that I haven't and I'm in no mood to give up that information. I'll be fine."

"Even so," Lilith told her, "I'd be more comfortable with you going if I came to to keep an eye on you. Maybe I could meet someone new." She grinned. "And then your uncle will see me and he'll get jealous, and…Oh, I love this plan!" She grinned and rubbed her hands together. "All right, that's good. So…when do we go?"

"I was gonna ask if you were okay going knowing that Uncle Caleb may very well be there, but apparently you are," Sophia smiled. "Whatever floats your boat."

"Yeah," Lilith nodded. "Of course I'm fine with it. The fact that he's there and is probably gonna be keeping an eye on me along with Patrick…that's just gonna make things even more fun, won't it?" She grinned wide and stood up. "Are you able to go now?"

"Sure, I guess," Sophia nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

When they got to the gym, they were not surprised that Eric met them at the door. "Well, hello, you two," he said. "Nice to see you here."

"Oh, I'm sure you think it is," Lilith told him.

"Excuse me, who are you again?" Sophia questioned him. "Have we met? I don't think I've ever seen you before."

"Oh, sorry," Eric apologized, taking her hand and kissing it. "I'm Eric. Your friend and I used to be a couple, but you don't have to worry about that. If you want me, I'm all yours." He grinned.

"What a nice offer," Sophia got out. "But I come to the gym to work out, not get a date."

This made Lilith chuckle as Sophia strode off to one of the weight machines to ask the handsome and burly man with the buzz cut who was just finishing to help her do it because she never had before.

As he watched her admire the man's muscles and flirt with him, Eric bristled. "Just who does he think he is, letting her do that to him? Doesn't he know that she's already claimed?"

"Oh, well how could he possibly know that?" Lilith asked as she crossed her arms. "It's not like she has a 'Property of…' sticker on her in an obvious place that has your name on it."

"This keeps going on and she will soon," Eric huffed.

"You know, that's not very nice, seeing as she has no idea who you are," Lilith reminded him. "If you're upset that she's talking to other guys, don't act like she's at fault. You put the spell on her, remember?"

"Yeah, and I'm this close to taking it off," Eric growled. He watched her get on the ski machine, then a bike, and when Lilith laughed at him for his behavior, he turned his head and frowned at her. "Don't you have something better to do with yourself than hang around me?"

"Don't you have something better to do than moon over a woman who has no idea who you are?" Lilith responded. "Kind of pathetic, really."

"Oh, shut up," Eric replied just as a sweaty Sophia came up to them.

"All right," she told Lilith while pointedly ignoring him beside her. "I think I need to stop and shower. A long one with lots of warm water. Then, I'm taking a snack break. If you need me, that's what I'll be doing."

"All right," Lilith smiled as Eric's eyes widened. "Sounds like a plan." Sophia then strode off, and Lilith put a hand on Eric's shoulder. "Hey," she said as he grudgingly turned to face her. "Hey, I have a question-"

"I haven't seen Caleb here today," Eric interrupted. "Now if you'll excuse me-"

"No, that's not what I meant," Lilith shook her head and stopped him again. "I wanted to ask-never mind, I'll look myself. Now you may feel free to go to your office and play with yourself while you think about Sophia in the shower."

"Well, aren't you funny?" Eric spat.

"Yeah," Lilith smiled. "I really think I am." Then she left him in search of available demon boys to flirt with, hoping that Caleb would come by and see her and she could relish the look on his face.

* * *

"So where's your friend?" Lilith surfaced from the depths of the pool and saw a handsome young man staring down at her as he sat dangling his feet over the edge. "The human?"

Him?" Lilith boosted herself out of the pool and came to sit next to him. He was a nice looking young man, dark eyed and blonde with a set of strong, shiny white teeth and a summer tan. "We're not seeing each other anymore. I'm free as a bird." She scooted closer and said in a breathy voice, "Why? Are you interested?" She felt his muscles. "Cause _I_ am."

"Good," He smiled back. "What do you think I came over here for? I'm Brett, by the way."

"Lilith," Lilith replied. She took his hand for a moment, their eyes met, and soon, they were clutching each other as they kissed wildly and rolled around on the pool room's tile floor. Then, when they finally stopped for breath, Brett stood up, pulled Lilith to her feet, and led her to the hot tub. He undressed, got in the water, winked at her, and asked, "You wanna join me?"

"Sure," Lilith grinned. "Why not?!" She put her clothes in a pile next to his and joined him in the tub where they resumed what they'd been doing before. At least until they were interrupted.

"You do know that lots of people actually use that hot tub, right?" Caleb remarked. "Don't taint it for the rest of us because you can't control yourselves."

"I have to say that no one was bothered before you showed up," Lilith told him. "And this is Brett by the way. I took your advice and decided to be with someone who was more like me."

"Well, good for you," Caleb told her. "I'm happy you've moved on. I have too you know. I have a date tonight, in fact."

"Good," Lilith nodded. "Great. Lovely. Now, if you don't want to join us, will you go away? We were in the middle of something."

"Clearly," Caleb nodded. "And I wouldn't want to interrupt. Or join you. I'm not that desperate."

"Then _go_!" Brent snapped, demon face showing.

Caleb stared at his corpse-like visage and empty black holes for eyes for just a minute before he changed his plans and decided not to swim anymore, no matter how much he wanted a peek at a scantily clad Lilith. There were other things he could do. There didn't seem to be many people in the weight room at the moment. Maybe he could go there. He ran out of the pool room with the door slamming behind him and no intention of returning until he was sure that both Lilith and that monster she was with were gone. On his way to the weight room, he tried to warn Patrick that the demons were back, but he had a sign on his training room door that announced he didn't want to be disturbed. Caleb sighed and stopped knocking. He supposed he would have to try again later.

* * *

Although Caleb heeded the sign on the door, Addie did not.

"Hey," she said, striding in an hour or so later. "I want you to train me like you did Stacy, Patrick."

Patrick scoffed. "You know if you want 'training', we don't have to do it here. In fact, it would probably be better if we didn't."

"If you're still worried about me getting drugs again, you don't have to," Addie assured him. "I worked too hard to get myself out of that mess. I'm not gonna wreck it by starting again. So what do you say? Please?"

"Now, just so I'm clear," Patrick told her, "Is this as much about working out as it is about sex? One or the other or both? What do you want from me?"

"Oh, I think it should be obvious what I want," she remarked. "I don't even know why you have to ask that. Where do we start?"

"Get down on the floor," Patrick told her. "We have to stretch you. I need to see how flexible you are."

"There are many ways I could show you that," Addie smiled. "Want me to go down the list and have that be our first lesson?"

"No," Patrick shook his head. "At least not now, anyway." He stretched her leg upward, his hand slowly running down it until he lowered it down. Then he did the other leg, followed by a few more stretches before they both got to their feet. "Now what?" Addie asked.

"Now, cardio," Patrick told her and handed her a jump rope. "Do a hundred jumps."

Addie looked down at her outfit. She wore jean shorts and a low cut red blouse along with black flats. "I'm not really dressed for actual exercise."

"That's okay," Patrick told her. "I won't ask you to do anything too strenuous."

"Oh, all right," Addie replied and began jumping. She wasn't wearing a sports bra so as she jumped, her chest jumped with her, which was undoubtedly the reason why Patrick couldn't look away. Or up into her eyes.

"You're a very good jumper," he praised when she finally put the rope down and paused to breathe.

"Thanks, I'm glad you think so," Addie told him, her chest right up against his. "What do I do now? What would make you want to crack the whip?"

"Let me think," Patrick told her. He listened to her breathe, then pulled her to him and began to kiss her neck as his hands cupped her bottom.

"What's this exercise for?" She moaned. "The glutes?"

"Oh, you don't need to work on those," he assured her as he gave her a spank. "They're already very nice. Now that we've had this initial consultation, I'll think more about your individual needs and come up with a plan for you, all right?"

"Sure," Addison nodded. "All right."

"And remember to dress properly next time," He reminded her. "Something tight that clings to the body. That gives you ease of movement."

"Right," Addie nodded, circling him. "Like what you got on? Although, if you ask me, it wouldn't hurt you to lose the shirt."

Patrick raised an eyebrow and handed her a water bottle. "All right," he nodded. "I'll take that into consideration for next time."

"Good," Addie nodded and took a swig of water. "You better."


	23. Making All The Rules

After Addie left the gym, Patrick had appointments with clients for the rest of the day. He thought that would distract him, but after just one client, he told the rest of his clients that he was ill, then he called Addie again.

"You have my schedule made already?" She asked in amazement. "So when do you want to meet next?"

"I can't wait until our next appointment," Patrick told her. "I need to talk now. Are you alone?"

"I can be," Addie replied. "Let me run upstairs."

So Patrick waited and then when she came back on the line, she had an interesting proposal for him after he told her how much he needed to see her, to hear her voice. "Do you have a computer with a camera in it?"

"Yeah," Patrick assured her. "Why?"

"Cause I thought we could have a talk," she told him. "Face to face." Her voice became seductive. "It would be fun, don't you think?"

Patrick chuckled. "Yeah," He agreed. "I really think it would."

"How long do you want to wait?" Addie asked. "Do you want me to do it now?"

"Well, yeah," Patrick told her. "We're both alone, so why not?"

They both took deep breaths and turned on their cameras.

"Hi, there," Patrick smiled when he saw Addie looking back at him. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Right," Addie nodded. "It's been the longest few hours of my life!"

He leaned closer. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"I thought I could show you more examples of how flexible I am," Addie explained. "We didn't do much of that at the gym and it might help you come up with my exercise plan."

"Right," Patrick grinned and licked his lips. "Of course it will." He then watched as she winked and stripped naked before bending in several amazing ways, both without a chair and with a chair.

"How long have you been able to put your legs over your head like that?" He asked as he watched her settle on her stomach, her legs touching the top of her head.

"It's a skill," she said as she got up, doing the splits. "I'm just naturally blessed, I guess."

As he looked over her body and watched her bend, there was a knock at the door and she quickly got to her feet and put a robe on. "Who is it?" She called.

"It's me," Vince told her from the other side. "Your mother is making a late dinner. You want any?"

"Okay," Addie replied. "Just give me a minute and then I'll be downstairs, okay?"

The door opened and Addie quickly shut her laptop as Vince entered the room. "Are you okay?" He asked. "You're not sick, are you?"

"No, Addie shook her head. "I'm just hanging out. Thanks for checking, though."

"You're welcome," Vince said and tousled her hair. "How did things go at the gym today?"

"I met with a trainer and we're working on a plan," Addie told him. "I was just talking to him about it, in fact."

"Wonderful," Vince smiled. "I'm very proud of you for trying to be healthy. I think it will be good for you."

"Yeah," Addie agreed. "I think you'll be right about that."

He left her then and she dressed, apologized to Patrick with a text message, and promised him, if it was all right, that they would continue their discussion later, giving him a picture of her chest as an added bonus.

* * *

When Sophia finally decided to leave the gym, night had fallen and since it was warm, she decided she would walk home. She put a note on Lilith's car as she strode out of the parking lot, not realizing that Eric was following some distance behind her. The moonlight was beautiful and it made her blonde hair look really good, but what she didn't realize was that something about her was not so beautiful, until a group of boys who were smoking cigarettes, breaking people's windows, and setting small fires saw her. They began pelting her with rocks and sticks and things, advancing on her, and screaming "Freak! Freak!"

She reached up to feel her face and her horns and then let out a shriek, falling to her knees and sobbing. She heard the boys scream in terror soon after, but didn't see what it was that had frightened them until someone helped her up, putting their arms around her and cuddling her. When she looked up at that person to thank them, she gasped. She was looking up at a pale demon with holes where his eyes should be. "Oh, my god," she breathed and tried to pull away. "Who…?"

"It's me, Eric," the voice came out of the creature that held her. "Those hooligans are gone. Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I suppose," Sophia nodded and wiped her eyes.

"Let me look at you," he insisted. "I need to see how badly you're hurt."

"Don't touch me!" She cried. "You'll be just as bad as they are!"

"I won't, I promise!" He assured her as he gently kissed her hair. "Sophia, look at me, please!"

Sophia realized that she didn't have much choice, so she stopped struggling and let him do what he will. At least he seemed to be trying to convince her that he cared this time. "Do you think I'm ugly?" She asked. "Do you agree with them?"

"No," Eric made sure she was watching him. "I think you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen. You've spent a lot of your life being human, so I can see how you might not like your demon appearance, but I promise you, you're not ugly. But you need to be careful when you walk in the moonlight, though. Night time is when your demon appearance is going to show up, whether you want it to or not. Hasn't your father told you about that?"

"No," Sophia shook her head. "No, Daddy and I haven't had much time to talk. I haven't been like this for very long, you know."

"True, true," Eric nodded. "You have a point." He gently kissed her forehead and whispered something under his breath.

"What did you just do?" Sophia asked as he took her hand and began walking with her down the sidewalk.

"That's the spell you can use to look human underneath the moonlight," Eric told her. "I came up with it cause I thought it would be needed."

"Well, you had good instincts there," Sophia told him as she took a compact from her purse and checked her face. "Thank you." They walked in companionable silence until Sophia seemed to remember who she was with, pulling away from him and running ahead. "I'm glad for your help," she told him. "But I don't want to be in debt to you anymore, cause I know how you'll collect, and I don't want that."

Eric sighed, letting her get some distance ahead of him before speeding up to catch her, grabbing her arm and pulling her back to him. "Things were going so well," he whispered as she struggled in his arms. "Why did you have to ruin it?"

" _I'm_ not the one who's ruining things," Sophia told him and tried to scratch his face. "It's you and your stupid plan to use me that's ruining things."

He grabbed her by the hair and made her look into his eyes. "I know you were playing me at the club. It only took me about five seconds to figure it out. You're lousy at that sort of thing. I only let you get away with it because I know I'll get you in the end."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sophia protested. "I wasn't trying to trick you at all. "Why would I go to so much effort for a man I don't even like?"

"You just were _so_ proud of the fact that you could still remember me despite the spell I put on you that you couldn't help showing it off, could you?" He asked. "That's a classic amateur mistake."

"Well, that's more your fault than mine," Sophia told him as he finally let her go. "Lilith told me about how powerful my demon side is and how stupid you were to try and think you could control me at all once I was grown."

"Ah, Lilith told you that," Eric nodded. "That was _another_ hint that something fishy was going on. You don't think it's weird at all for you to be friends with my ex? She has a reason to hate me and in a way, so do you. It's completely obvious that you would team up to plot against me."

"I'll remember that," Sophia nodded. Then she backed away from him. The kind manner of the man who had saved her was gone, replaced with someone cold, calculating, and ruthless. She'd made him angry and she didn't want to stick around and see what that meant. "Thanks for the save. I really do mean that. But…I have to be going now. And for the future, just stay away from me, okay? Now that I know a little more, there are mistakes I won't be making. I don't need you, and there's no way in hell I'm gonna allow you to put me in your debt."

Eric chuckled when he heard this. "I know you think that, but sooner or later, you're gonna need me. I know it. I know lots of things. Why do you think I'm the leader of all this?" He got close to her and took her face in his hands. "You're meant to be with me. And the sooner you accept it, the easier things will be for you."

"Oh, that's something I'm really gonna look forward to," Sophia scoffed. "Being stuck in a life with you, being forced to have your children and carry out your plan while you don't respect me at all. How wonderful."

He turned her around so that he was looking at her back, then he zapped up a diamond necklace and put it on her. "Just a little preview of what's waiting for you," he whispered, his lips against her neck as he thought about what she would look like wearing that necklace while lying naked underneath him and screaming his name.

"Oh, look at that," Sophia responded in a dry voice as she fingered the diamonds. She couldn't deny they were beautiful, but she couldn't let him know that. "You got me something. That doesn't really change anything. In fact, it just proves my point. You don't care about me as a person. You don't care about who I am, or what I think. You just throw whatever you think might work at me and hope it will. If you really _do_ want us to have a relationship, you're gonna have to try harder than that. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get home before my mother starts to worry. She took the necklace off, put it in his hands, and strode off into the night comforted by the fact that thanks to him, she could be in the moonlight and no one would see anything weird about her.

* * *

When Lilith was sure that Caleb was good and gone, she finally pulled away from Brett. "Where are you going, beautiful?" He asked her. "Why don't you stay? We've barely done much of anything."

"Oh, I know," Lilith replied. "But I've had enough. I just…I need to go." She didn't have the heart to tell him that his breath smelled, so did his body, and that he was a really bad kisser. She dressed quickly and ran out of the gym before he could protest any way besides staring in shock, and ran smack into Caleb.

"Well, hi, there," she said. "How are you still here? I thought you would have gone by now."

"I found out that one of my tires was flat and I've been changing it," Caleb replied. "Oh, and by the way, I saw Sophia leave a note on your car that said she wanted to walk home. Just thought you'd wanna know."

"Well, thank you," Lilith said.

"You're welcome," he breathed.

Lilith leaned back from the smell of the alcohol on his breath. His car was full of empty beer bottles. "You haven't been changing a tire," she told him, taking his face in her hands. "You've been out here drinking, haven't you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Caleb told her. "I wonder, is it better to fuck a demon than it is a human man like me, you whore? That's what I've been thinking about with every drink."

Lilith refused to answer cause he was out of his mind and instead offered to drive him home. "You need to sleep," she told him. "Let's go."

"Answer my question!" Caleb yelled, forcing her to face him. "Is it better to fuck a demon than a human boy?" He grabbed her around the wrist and she slapped him with her free hand. Then he grabbed her and kissed her hard and they began to kiss, light gentle ones, and hot heavy ones, their hands going all over each other's bodies, before Lilith pushed him away, realizing how silly she was being. He pouted at her, then laid his head on the opposite window, struggling to keep his eyes open. Lilith gave a satisfied nod and climbed into the front seat, speaking to him

"You're drunk, it's late, you're probably really tired, and I'm taking you home. It's the best thing for you." She put the keys she'd wrested from him into the ignition, started the car, and began driving back to Malachai and Helene's.

* * *

When they reached the house, she parked in the driveway and got in the backseat to talk to Caleb, who was nearly asleep.

"Hey!" She told him, taking his face in her hands. "Before you pass out from all the alcohol in your system, I want to make one thing clear, okay? I am not a whore. Just because I like having sex with guys who aren't you after you _told_ me that you didn't want to have anything to do with me, that doesn't give you the right to call me names. Now, I know you're drunk and when you wake up with that pounding headache tomorrow, I'm gonna laugh. But if you ever call me a whore or anything like that again, I won't have anything to do with you? Understand me?"

He got out a nod and an unintelligible apology before he fell asleep and Lilith had to go into the house and tell Malachai so that he could help her get Caleb into the house and tuck him into bed. When that was done, she kissed his cheek, accepted Malachai's thanks for bringing his son home safe, and then left the house and zapped herself home, pouring herself a drink and going to watch TV.


	24. Taking The Plunge

"I hope Christian's not too upset that he doesn't need to host you anymore," John remarked when he and Freya finally arrived at his apartment with little Ingrid in tow. They would have got home sooner, but to John's irritation, Freya insisted on being checked out by a doctor and that had delayed them a couple of days. "Do you think he fears for your welfare now that you're once again home with me?"

"Well, I hope he knows better than that," Freya told him. "I'm a grown woman and I can handle myself, especially around you. It's poor Ingrid I'm worried about." She cuddled the baby to herself and kissed her dark head.

"For the millionth time, she's not in any danger," John murmured. "I wouldn't kill my own daughter. Others I might, but not someone who I've sired directly."

"I'm keeping an eye on you," Freya narrowed her eyes, and then took Ingrid, who was just starting to bawl, into her room to feed her.

"Do you know where you're going?" John called. "Do you know which room is hers?"

"Well, I thought that since I have my powers back, I can make one up for her," Freya replied.

John grinned. "No need," he assured her. "I did it already."

And with that, he led Freya into the pinkest, frilliest room she had ever seen. "What do you think?" He asked with a grin.

"Well, it's certainly very pink, that's for sure," Freya replied. "It's so sweet of you to do this. When was it done, though?"

"When we were at the hospital, I sneaked home a couple of times while you were sleeping," John explained.

"Ah," Freya nodded. "Okay."

John looked at Ingrid, who was still sobbing, and said to her mother, "You don't seem to be calming her down very much. Why don't you let me give it a try?"

"The reason why she's not calm," Freya answered between her teeth, "Is that she's hungry and you keep talking to me so that she can't be fed. If you go along your merry way, I can do that and she'll calm down. Do you understand?"

"Well, all right," John backed out of the room. "I'm leaving. I know when I'm not wanted."

"He doesn't really," Freya whispered to her daughter as she fed her. "But he's getting better, to his credit." She looked around the room and chuckled at the pinkness of it. "And I'm sorry about this room. If you hate it when you get older, we can always change it, but for now, it'll stay how it is because your father tried to do a nice gesture, and when he does them, they need to be enforced."

When Ingrid had eaten, Freya changed and dressed her and let her get some rest. It had been a long trip for her and an action packed start to life, so now she could probably use the quiet, as could everyone else in the house, especially since the family invasion would, no doubt, happen very soon.

* * *

"What is in your head, Freya?!" Mikael yelled as he stormed into her and John's house not long after. "How could you just run off like that? You could have died!"

John and Freya both tried to shush him, but it was too late. Ingrid was awake again just half an hour after they'd finally gotten her to settle down. "Thanks, Father," Freya said, her lips a grim line. "I really like it when you come to visit."

"I'll let you handle your father," John suggested as he put a hand on Freya's shoulder. "I'll go tend to the child."

"Are you sure you're ready to handle that?" Freya asked. "Cause I can always come and help."

"When did you have your child?" Mikael questioned. "And how long were you going to keep that from me?"

"No," John chuckled. "I'll be fine. Have fun!" He strode off, muttering to himself in frustration how, even though he arguably spent more time with Ingrid than she did, Freya still saw fit to question his caretaking methods. He reached Ingrid's room, took her out of her bassinet, and rocked her gently. "There, there," he said and made shushing noises. "We didn't mean to wake you. Your mother's father just showed up, is very cranky, and has no idea how to keep his voice down." He then tried to get Ingrid to go back to sleep, but she wouldn't, so he finally decided to just bring her out of her room to meet her grandfather.

"Is that it?" Mikael asked as Freya took her from John.

"Yes, this is _her_ ," Freya nodded. "Her name's Ingrid."

"Doesn't look much like you, does she?" Mikael replied.

"No, but Christian does," Freya reminded him. "I hope you'll treat her nicely."

"Of course I will," Mikael said. "I treat everyone in our family nicely."

"I wouldn't say that's true and you know it," Freya told him.

"Well, maybe not, but rest assured I'll hold my tongue around this little one," he told her.

"Good," Freya nodded. "I would hope so."

Then Mikael said, "Can I hold her?"

"You want to?" Freya asked in surprise. "I didn't think you had much patience for children, especially little ones like this."

"Well, it's not like she's the first baby I've ever encountered," Mikael pointed out. "I can manage. I'll be gentle."

John and Freya gave each other a long look and then Freya cautiously handed Ingrid to her father, holding her breath until it became clear that he wouldn't drop her and was actually quite tender toward his new granddaughter.

"She's gonna be a strong one," he grinned as he looked down into her eyes, at that steady gaze that met his and wouldn't look away. "Doesn't surprise me, though." He looked up at Freya, who was smiling. "I'm glad that you made it back all right. I was worried."

"I know you were," Freya nodded. "And I didn't mean to just run off like that. I meant to call, but…you know how I am when I get something on my mind. I just forget all other things, sometimes to my peril."

"Yes," Mikael remembered fondly. "That's always been a habit of yours, hasn't it?"

Freya sighed, "Aleksandr used to be able to stop me and talk some sense into me, but now that my twin brother is dead, there's not much hope for that."

They sat in awkward silence until Mikael looked between John and Freya and said, "So…when are you two going to get married?"

"Well, that just came out of nowhere," Freya got out.

"I shouldn't think it did," Mikael replied. "You've now had two children by this man. When is he going to make an honest woman out of you?"

"I know our relationship isn't exactly traditional," Freya conceded. "But in a sense, he already _has_ made an honest woman out of me. We just don't have the formal ceremony and piece of paper to prove it. I mean, he's not going to run off and be with anyone else but me and I've learned that I can't be with anyone else but him, so we're basically married and you harping on it isn't going to change anything. Besides, Kol and Margot, for example, aren't formally married and I bet you don't nag them about it."

"I learned a long time ago that trying to get your brother Kol to adhere to any sort of proper behavior is useless," Mikael sighed. "So I stopped trying and my life became much less frustrating." Then he told John, "All right. I accept your little arrangement, but if you just up and leave my daughter because you're not legally bound to her, you'll have me to answer to, do you understand?"

"You must really love your daughter if you're brave enough to talk to me that way without magic behind you," John told him. "I'll let it pass, however, because you really don't have any reason to worry and even if you did try and attack me, it wouldn't have any real effect, would it?"

"No," Freya shook her head as Mikael glared. "I really don't think it would."

* * *

Christian came to visit not long after, along with Jill, and the first thing he said was, "Now that you're back, Dad, you can return everyone's powers. Wouldn't that be a nice thing to do?"

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Freya assured him. "He already promised me that he would when he gave me mine back."

John heard this and burst into laughter. "Where would you get the idea that I actually _meant_ it when I said that? Don't you know by now that I'll say anything to get my way? And if that was what would make you happy, of course that's what would come out of my mouth."

"I should have known that," Freya groaned and glared at him, their son wearing a matching expression. "But I thought that fatherhood had changed you enough that you wouldn't lie."

"Apparently you thought wrong," John smirked and showed his teeth.

"No," Freya shook her head. "You're not gonna get away with that this time. You're gonna give everyone's powers back and you're gonna do it _now_!"

"Oh, all right," John told her and kissed her hair. "We'll have a dinner party. Snacks, maybe some lobster, and a baked Alaska. It'll be fun." He kissed her hair as Ingrid began to cry. "Now if you'll excuse me, my daughter is calling me."

"All right go," Freya waved her hand as John rose to his feet and left the room.

Christian rubbed his eyes and shook his head. "Did I just see Dad volunteer to go and take care of Ingrid?"

"Oh, yeah," Freya nodded. "He's really taken to her. Practically the only time he lets me anywhere near her is when she has to be fed."

"Well, that's good," Jill remarked.

"Yeah, it is," Freya agreed. Then she looked at Christian. "I hope it doesn't upset you."

"Why would it upset me?" Christian asked. "I'm glad Dad's getting his act together."

"Yeah," Freya nodded. "Me too." She looked at Jill. "But enough about me and him. How are things at your house? How's Sophia?"

"She had an incident when she was walking home from the gym the other night," Jill said. "The moon made her demon face appear and a group of boys attacked her. She was so distressed that she didn't think to fight back. Luckily she said someone saved her."

"Yeah, that _is_ lucky," Freya nodded. "Poor Sophia. I hope she's better now."

"She is," Christian nodded. "But she says it'll be some time before she goes back to that gym again."

"What about you two?" Freya questioned. "Is it prying too much to ask if you're getting along?"

"Things are improving," Jill told her. "I mean, they aren't perfect yet, but we want things to be the way they were, so we're getting there. We're moving in that direction."

"Good," Freya smiled. "That makes me happy, because you're so good for each other and it warmed my heart to see you together before."

"Thanks," Jill told her. "Do you think he's serious about that dinner thing? Or is that just a joke?"

"I think he's absolutely serious," Freya told her. "And I also think it's going to be a lot of trouble, so we should all take time to prepare ourselves."

* * *

"Wow," Freya remarked the night of the party when she saw everything clean and decorated and people in uniforms running around asking each other through headsets about food. "When you said you were going fancy, you weren't kidding."

"Of course not!" John exclaimed, taking her hand and kissing it. "I can throw a party just as well as your family. Where's Ingrid?"

"Jill agreed to watch her," Freya assured him. "Don't worry. I didn't leave our daughter in the hands of a complete stranger."

"I should hope not," John got out.

"So…what's in store for this little party tonight?" Freya questioned. "Are you actually going to talk about giving people's powers back, or is this just dangling the carrot, then pulling it back and saying 'screw you' when everyone is standing in front of you?"

"Well, even if it _is_ , they'll come away with something to be pleased about," John told her. "I promise."

"Oh, dear god, it frightens me to even ask, so I won't," Freya told him.

"Good," John grinned. "Because I don't want you to. Now, would you go and call your relatives one last time to see who's coming?"

"Sure," Freya nodded. "Why not?"

When the Mikaelsons were all gathered in John and Freya's dining room, Mikael said, "I don't know what more you could do to us, but I have a feeling you've thought of something and that's why we're all standing here."

"I understand why you have a problem with me, but I told you that I invited you here to discuss about returning your powers and I mean it," John assured him. "Now, please have a crab puff, a lobster roll, or a cucumber sandwich so you won't be able to speak while I'm talking."

Klaus chuckled at this as Mikael narrowed his eyes, and after Amy gave him a look, took a handful of cucumber sandwiches from a passing tray, eating one at a time.

"As I just told you," John said as he looked at the party. "I called you here to discuss who gets their powers back and who doesn't. It was a long and hard decision, but I've decided that, for now, the ladies in this room will get their magic back. Everyone else has to wait."

"Hey!" Mikael cried. "That's not fair!"

"Life never is," John smirked as he did the spell that gave powers back to Selina, Amy, Margot, and Gwen as their husbands frowned.

When the hors d'oeuvres had been cleared away and the baked Alaska (a concoction of cake and ice cream buried under bruleed meringue) was brought out, Selina saw it, her eyes widened, and she clutched Elijah and said, "Am I allowed to eat that? Cause if not, give me strength."

"It's a special occasion," Elijah told her. "You can let loose. I think I'll have a small piece, myself."

Margot and Kol shared their piece, but as they lifted their forks to their mouths, John stopped them.

"Before we have our dessert, there's one more thing I would like to do. Freya, would you come here a moment, please?"

"Sure," Freya nodded. "What can I do for you?" She then gasped as John got down on one knee and pulled a ring out of his jacket pocket. "Oh, my god," she said. "Are you serious?"

"I admit that this is something I never thought I would do," he told her with a smile. "And don't worry, I'm not doing this just because your father has nagged us about it. It's something I've thought about for a while, I just needed to find the right time. Now, with your family all here, I think we're there. Freya, you're the mother of my two children, and the first woman I've been able to stand in well…forever. I can't live without you, and I assume that since you ran all the way to a cave in the middle of nowhere to find me when you were so close to giving birth, that means you feel the same way about me. So…why don't we just make it official then. Will you marry me?"

"Sure," Freya nodded and accepted the shiny diamond ring. "Sure, let's do it!"

They hugged one another, then Gwen was the first to hug Freya and offer her congratulations. Her siblings followed soon after, but as Selina never quite felt like part of the group, she yelled her congratulations while staying in her seat and reaching for a second piece of baked Alaska.


	25. You've Gotta Shop Around

"You know, I have to admire your willpower," Sophia complimented Lilith. "Uncle Caleb wanted you and you refused him."

"I know!" Lilith cried. "It was such a hard thing to do, but for the first time in my life, I felt it wouldn't be right. I mean, the making out was nice, but sex isn't fun when you know someone is just gonna yell at you about it afterward. I just…I've changed. I want to have relationships that let me connect with people on a deeper level. The thought of just going from person to person…no. Not anymore. I want to wait, until the one person I want is ready to commit to me."

Sophia grinned. "You mean Uncle Caleb?"

"Maybe," Lilith frowned. "It could be him, it could be someone else. Who knows? Life is a mystery."

"Yeah," Sophia rolled her eyes at her friend. "Whatever. Mystery my butt. You just miss Uncle Caleb and don't want to admit it."

"Well, the guy called me a whore," Lilith told her. "That makes me miss him mentally, but unfortunately, my body doesn't agree with my brain. My body still kind of wants him, even though my brain doesn't." She then stood up a little straighter. "But I don't care what my body wants. My self-respect is more important, and just to prove it, I'll even be celibate if I have to."

"Good luck with that," Sophia said, then began silently keeping track of how long it would take her to break that vow. Cause she knew that no matter how determined Lilith seemed, she would.

* * *

"What were you all about?" Sophia asked as she met Lilith outside of her house just three days after Lilith's initial vow, following a frantic phone call. "You sounded so sad on the phone."

"That's because I _am_ sad!" Lilith stamped her foot. "I know that I was all about waiting for the one person that would be faithful to me, but actually _experiencing_ it is different. I have needs! I can't be celibate! What do I do? _Please_ tell me you have some ideas."

"Just a minute," Sophia told her and ran inside, coming back with Jill's vibrator in hand. "Try using this."

"What's that?" Lilith asked, taking the pink object in hand. "What does it do?"

"Well, my mom and dad aren't together at the moment and she uses that at night a lot," Sophia replied. "This isn't actually the first one she's had. She's gone through a few." She then paused and remarked,"If Eric's my only option, I'll have to get one along with you."

Lilith shook the vibrator a bit. "So you're telling me that this is like having sex, but you don't need a guy? Like, it does the same thing?"

"Yeah," Sophia nodded. "Don't ask me how I know that. I just do. You want one?"

"Yes," Lilith grinned widely. "Yes, I do."

"All right," Sophia nodded. "Let me take this back to my mom because she'd be really ticked off if I made her lose Renaldo. Then, we can go."

"Renaldo?" Lilith asked, following Sophia into the house. "Who the hell is Renaldo?"

"That's what she named it," Sophia told her with a shrug. "It must help her to pretend it's a guy."

"Interesting," Lilith said. "Maybe I'll do that too."

Sophia chuckled. "Why don't you name yours Caleb?"

"I might," Lilith told her as Sophia put the vibrator by Jill's sink and then followed her to her car. "Or I might name it something else. You don't know."

"Yeah," Sophia told her. "I think I do."

* * *

Sophia had been enthusiastic about helping Lilith about her problem at first, but then she remembered that the nearest sex shop was in a really bad part of town, right across from a casino. When the two women arrived there, Lilith parked her car in a nearby lot, put a spell on it so it would be invisible, and then held Sophia's hand tightly as the younger woman shared memories of being abused by the boys as she'd walked home from the gym.

"Are you okay?" Lilith asked. "If you don't feel safe, we can leave."

"No," Sophia shook her head and pulled her into the store. "I'm fine."

They slammed the door shut and the man at the counter looked up at them. "What can I do for you ladies today?" He asked.

"You can tell us where your vibrators are, please," Sophia replied.

The man rolled his eyes. "It would be better to get a man," he told them, his voice full of disgust that women would dare desire to pleasure themselves and not need a man to be involved.

"No, I don't think it would," Lilith told him. "Now, where are they? Tell us and you'll get money. I trust you're not dumb enough to turn down a sale?"

But before he could answer, the door opened again and Sophia ran to hide as she saw the man who entered the store, cigarette in his mouth.

"Eric!" The man smiled and came to embrace him. "This chick and her friend want vibrators, can you believe that? Why don't you just give them both a tumble? That might change their minds."

"Not really," Lilith shook her head. "I've already been there."

"Really?" The man remarked. "And you still want a vibrator? What's your problem?"

"Oh, don't push her, Rob," Eric said as Lilith wondered how the man could have such a high opinion of Eric's sexual prowess. "Some people don't know a good thing when they have it."

Lilith scoffed. "Oh, I know a good thing and you're just not it, okay? Face it. Come to terms with the fact that there might actually be someone on this planet who is not susceptible to your 'charms'."

"You were just recently," Eric reminded her. "And now you're covering to help deal with the fact that I've moved on to someone more promising. And speaking of, is she with you?"

"Why would you ask that?" Lilith wanted to know, hands on hips. "Just because Sophia and I are friends doesn't mean she's with me every minute."

Eric just grinned. "I think you're lying," he remarked and began looking around for her.

* * *

Sophia was hiding in a dressing room with the door open a smidge so she could see him as he came closer and closer to her hiding place, and when he reached it, she quickly shut the door.

"Sophia?" He called "Sophia, are you in there?"

She thought about zapping herself away, but then remembered that in a way, she was more powerful than he was. She wouldn't get scared, she wouldn't run away, she would face him. And to help her have courage, she would wear the black stiletto boots, tiny lace panties, and black velvet corset top that had been left in that dressing room. She put them on, adjusted the size, and then stepped out. "Well, hello, Eric," she said in a sultry voice, enjoying the look on his face. "What can I do for you?"

"A-actually," he answered, trying to get control of the situation again, "I was thinking that maybe I could help _you_ release any frustrations you might have. What do you think?"

"I don't know," she said as he came into the dressing room and shut the door. "Are you good enough? I don't let just anybody near me. I need proof that you're worth my time. Can you give me that?"

He pushed her against the wall and nibbled on her earlobe as she struggled not to make too much noise and give away that she was enjoying herself. "If you want proof, I'll give you proof." He crashed his lips against hers, kissing her deeply as he pushed her tiny panties down to her knees, reached between her legs, and gave her a good, hard rub. That did it. No matter how much she wanted to try and keep quiet, moans of pleasure escaped her lips, even though she hated that smug smirk on his face and the gleam in his dark eyes now that he knew he'd gotten to her.

But what was _not_ immediately obvious was the effect that she had on _him._ As he heard her call out his name, he felt something that he never had before. Not exactly the sense of triumph at making yet another conquest, but…something else. Something different that he didn't know how to explain. He took her face in his hands so that their eyes met. As they were now in their demon forms, the holes he had for eyes were looking directly into her red eyes, and he whispered, "What are you doing to me, you wicked demon woman?"

She opened her mouth to respond, but he didn't want to hear her answer. He just wanted to get away somewhere where he could shake off these weird feelings and be his old self again. Without so much as a 'goodbye', he zapped himself away, leaving Sophia alone, aroused, and very, _very_ confused.

She waited a little while, but when it was apparent that he wasn't coming back, she dressed in the clothes she'd come in, grabbed a vibrator for her friend, and after paying for it, went in search of her, only to find her talking with her uncle outside.

Not wanting to interrupt their conversation, she went to wait in the car, but wondered what they were saying. She hoped her uncle wasn't screwing things up too badly.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Lilith told Caleb. "You had no idea I was gonna be here. It's just a very big coincidence."

"Yeah, it is!" Caleb nodded. "I promise. There's a bar not far from here that I go to sometimes, I came out of it, was walking down the street minding my own business, and there you were, coming out of a sex shop. Can I ask why?"

"Because I've decided not to sleep around anymore," Lilith decided to tell him. "I've decided to wait until the right person is ready to be with me. But I've also discovered that I have needs in the meantime, just doing nothing is not the answer, and I came to this shop with Sophia because she thought she could get me something that would help."

"And has she gotten you anything?" Caleb asked. "Cause if she hasn't…I could help. You know, help you find a product, I mean. Although, I would also be willing to help in other ways if that's what you wanted, but right now, I just…oh, sorry. I'm really not expressing myself well. Let me start again and say 'Thank you' for taking me home the other night. We didn't sleep together, did we?"

"No, you tried, but I stopped you. I wanted you to be able to look yourself in the mirror in the morning," she said. "Plus you called me a whore and that kind of turned me off too."

"Well, I'm sorry about that," he apologized. "I didn't mean it."

"Maybe you did," she shrugged. "You were drunk and when people are drunk, they say all kinds of things, and sometimes they mean them and sometimes they don't."

"True enough," Caleb conceded. "If you're really serious about this whole monogamy idea, I'm…I'm glad for you. And I still…I still would be open to helping you find the right thing if you're up for it."

"Well, all right," Lilith agreed, feeling very flustered as he led her inside. She wanted to ask how much he actually knew about the stuff in the shop, but the thought of doing that made her blush. "Thanks. Cause as much as I would love to take you up on the offer of your help, I don't think you're ready. I mean, can you honestly face the idea of being in a relationship with a demon?"

"Yes," Caleb said immediately, then quickly recanted, a blush coloring his cheeks. "No, not yet," he told her. "I just said that because I knew that's what you wanted to hear."

"I thought so," Lilith told him. "I want to be with you, you want to be with me, but I don't think we're ready for the long haul yet. I hope someday we will be, though."

"Yeah," Caleb nodded. "Me too. But until then, let's find a way for you to occupy yourself. Do you already have an idea of what to look for?"

"Sophia said I should get a vibrator, but do you have any other ideas?" Lilith questioned. "If you're embarrassed to do this with me, you don't have to."

"No, it's fine," Caleb assured her. They walked around the store and ended up with a couple of adult movies, several vibrators that stimulated everything that could be stimulated, and even a couple of dildos. "I think you're covered," Caleb remarked as he looked in the basket.

"Yeah," Lilith agreed. "I think I am, too. It's not gonna be as fun as when I'm doing it with someone, but it's the price I pay, I guess. I think it's only right to give you the time you need to reach the point where you can accept me. I deserve that. _We_ deserve that."

She paid for her stuff, ignoring the look on the shop owner's face, and then left with Caleb trailing behind her.

"Well, good luck," he said. Then, he took the bag of stuff out of her arms for a moment, put it on the pavement beside them, and took her in his arms to give her a kiss. A deep one that she felt all the way down to her toes.

"What was that for?" She asked in shock when he finally pulled away, her body warm.

Caleb gave her a cute smile. "Just something to remember me by," he replied. "Goodbye, Lilith." He then strode away as she picked up her bag and watched him disappear. She was glad that if he had to leave, the last thing she saw was his butt. He had a very nice butt. Then she heard a honk that snapped her back to reality. She turned and saw Sophia sitting in the front seat of her car, the window rolled down.

"Ready to go?" She asked.

"Yeah, sorry," She apologized, heading to the car, throwing her stuff in the back, then waiting as Sophia moved over to the passenger's seat, then handed her the vibrator she'd bought her. "I got this for you," she said. "It seems like you're covered, but what I've learned from my mother is that it never hurts to have extras."

"Thanks," Lilith smiled. "I appreciate it." Then she said, "You wanna tell me if anything happened between you and Eric? He didn't try and take advantage, did he? You can't let him do that."

"No, he didn't," Sophia grinned. "I made sure of that. And just what was that kiss between you and Uncle Caleb? Are you back together again?"

"No," Lilith shook her head. "He said he wasn't ready. He was just giving me a little 'goodbye for now' kiss."

"That wasn't a _little_ kiss," Sophia protested. "It was long. I counted."

"Well, the point is, he was just giving me one for the road," Lilith told her, then remembered to turn the car on. "And I think it was the right thing to do. I'm now fully prepared to take care of myself until he's ready to be with me."

"Yes, you are," Sophia agreed.

"Do you think I'll be able to do it, though?" Lilith questioned. "It's one thing to say that I can, but actually walking the walk is different."

"I think you can," Sophia encouraged. "And if you ever think you can't, I'm only a phone call away."

"Thanks," Lilith smiled. "I feel much better now."

"You do?" Sophia smiled back. "I'm glad."


	26. The Parent Trap

"What have you been doing lately?" Christian asked Sophia as she, he, and Jill sat in the living room. "You've been out of the house a lot. Do you think that maybe you could stay in tonight?"

"Why?" Sophia asked. "I promise that when I go out, I'm not doing anything bad."

"Well, we're just concerned about you and that one guy, Eric," Christian explained. "We don't want you to get hurt."

"I don't," Sophia assured him. "I go with my friend Lilith. She's a demon too. Do you know about her? Or do you know that we're friends?"

"She's with your Uncle Caleb," Jill got out.

"They broke up for the moment," Sophia told her. "Anyway, I hope you don't mind my going out again tonight. I think it'll be good for you. You can have a chance to talk to each other."

"Yeah," Christian agreed. "That's a good point. We haven't _talked_ in a long time." He caught Jill's eye and gave her a look.

"Well, maybe I don't feel like _talking_ ," Jill told him. "Renaldo takes care of me. I don't need you."

Christian scoffed. "Oh, please. And I can't believe you named that!"

"Would you feel better about it if I gave it _your_ name?" Jill asked.

"No," Christian shook his head. "Cause I'm _much_ more effective. Why don't you let me show you tonight?" He grinned.

Jill could feel her body become warm when she saw that smirk. And she also felt panic. Not that she was scared of him. Because she wasn't. But she knew that he'd make her feel something big, and it had been awhile.

"Now I definitely have to go out," Sophia grinned. "You two have a good time."

"Um…" Jill scrambled around for an excuse not to be alone with Christian. "Maybe I have to go out too. Perhaps someone's needed to watch Ingrid. I think I'll go give your mother a call…" She ran off and Sophia was left staring at a shocked Christian.

"What are you just sitting there for?" Sophia questioned. "Go after her! For heaven's sake, sometimes I look at you two and I wonder how the hell I was even conceived in the first place. You're like an old married couple who have no thrill anymore, not two people who're young and happy and madly in love."

"Well, you missed that part," Christian sighed. The first round of it, anyway. "Then some bad things happened, your mother and I separated, and now it's…it's kind of hard to get things back the way they were."

"What things happened?" Sophia pressed. "Did you cheat? Did she cheat? Did your parents try and separate you? What?"

"I killed your mother," Christian murmured. " _My_ father was having a fight with _her_ father at the time, and her father and your uncles beat the tar out of me, so as revenge, my father put a spell on me that made me kill your mother so that they would know just who they were dealing with. I never would have done it myself, especially since she was pregnant with you at the time of her death."

Sophia gasped and put a hand to her mouth. "Then how am I even still here?"

Christian sighed. "Demon organs can regenerate," he informed her. "I came back to myself soon enough after her death that I was able to give her a new heart and new life before any harm came to you."

"And…and you didn't _want_ to kill either of us, did you?" Sophia clarified.

"No!" Christian shook his head. "Of course not!"

"Well, if you killed her, no wonder Mom's a bit nervous around you," Sophia conceded.

"Actually, I think it was more _your_ murder that made her dislike me," Christian said. "Ever since we first met, the idea that I would kill her hung over us. She'd had visions of it before I was even born. And for whatever reason, your mother had it in her head to surrender gracefully to her end. But of course, you being there when it happened is _not_ something she bargained for."

"So Mom has visions," Sophia nodded. "Cool! Maybe that means I will. Demon heritage from you, visions from Mom, I'll just be an exciting figure, won't I?"

"Yeah," Christian smiled. "You will."

They sat in silence again and finally Sophia asked, "Why are you still here? I thought you were going to go talk to Mom."

"I would, but I don't want to drive her away even more than I already have," Christian explained. "Sometimes your mother is like a scared rabbit. You come on too strong, she bolts, and then there it is. No chance of reconciliation at all after so much work. So I'll just wait for her to come to me. That would be better."

Sophia rolled her eyes, shook her head, and got up. "It's like I have to do everything around here, don't I?" She strode off to her mother's bedroom and said, "You wanna explain why you ran off like that? I mean, Dad told me about the whole 'murdering us' thing, but if you're secure enough with him that you're willing to have you and me move back into his apartment, that's clearly behind you. So why are you waffling? Dad really wants a chance to start over. Don't you love him?"

"Yes," Jill nodded. " _Of course_ I love him! I just…he makes me feel a lot of things and after all that's happened…after being alone for so long and making myself feel nothing at all, the thought of being with your dad again and so many of those emotions hitting me in the face…it terrifies me. What if I get hurt again? What if…what if one of our fathers, or both of them, pit us against each other? It's not because I hate your father that I'm pulling away. I love him very much. I suppose I always have, even when it wasn't wise and everyone thought I was crazy. And I don't want to put all that feeling back into our relationship just to have it ruined again."

"Maybe if you told Dad that, he could help," Sophia encouraged. "The first time around, you took a leap and let yourself love him, even when you knew it was gonna end in disaster. You took the time you had and you used it to its fullest extent. Do that again. Take a deep breath, go tell Dad, and let yourself be happy! You don't want to be alone with Renaldo for the rest of your life, do you?"

"Well, no, but…" Jill sighed. "I guess you have a point. And stop talking about me and Renaldo. How the hell do you know so much about that, anyway?"

"Would you really like me to answer that and describe in detail all the noises you make when you're using that thing?" Sophia questioned.

"No," Jill flushed. "Never mind."

"I thought you would say that," Sophia nodded. "Now, I'm gonna go out tonight, and you're gonna talk to Dad, right?"

"Yes," Jill nodded. "I promise."

"Good," Sophia nodded. "I mean, if you don't do it, it won't hurt _me_ at all, but I really think you'll be selling yourself short and missing out on a good thing."

"I will talk to him, I promise," Jill told her. "You go out and have fun. Don't worry about your dad and me. You're our child. That's not your lot in life."

"I know, but I don't mind looking out for you anyway," Sophia said, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek and then going to tell her father the good news.

* * *

"That was some dinner party my father threw the other night, wasn't it?" Christian asked Jill later as a way to start conversation and break the silence between them.

"I wouldn't know because I promised your mother I would tend to your sister, but knowing everyone who was there, I'm kind of glad I missed it," Jill replied. She was sitting in the living room in her underwear and one of Christian's navy t-shirts and eating a carton of mint chip ice cream.

"Mom and Dad decided to get engaged," Christian told her. "I don't know if it was a serious thing or just a show for my grandfather so he won't bug them about getting married anymore." He paused, realizing that her attention was still on her ice cream and not on him. "Hey!" He snatched it away. "Have you been listening to me?"

"Do you mind? I was eating!" Jill cried.

"If you're gonna steal my shirts, the least you could do is listen to me when I talk," Christian told her.

"If you're gonna be bossy and expect me to listen to you, the least you could do is have something worthwhile to say," Jill shot back. "Or you can just go back to watching sports or doing whatever the hell it is you do when you lock yourself in your room."

"No, I don't think I will," Christian came and sat next to her, getting into her personal space, and reaching out to touch a strand of her hair. "You have ice cream in your hair," he remarked. "You're a complete mess."

"If that's a pickup line, you've really lost your touch," Jill informed him and finally put her ice cream down. "You wanna try again?" Then she blinked several times as she realized that Christian was in nothing _but_ his underwear. She put a hand on his chest and kissed him before he could speak again, her eyes flashing red for a moment.

"Well, isn't that sweet?" Christian grinned. "I _knew_ that if you just got a look at me, you'd be overcome with desire."

"Shut up,'" Jill put a finger over his mouth and pushed him back on the sofa as she ran her fingers through her hair and he pushed up her t-shirt. "You'll be more likely to get lucky if you don't speak."

He nodded and let her slip off his boxer shorts, giving him a slow and thorough handjob as she nibbled on his neck.

"Good," he chuckled, his eyes closed. "I like this."

"I thought you would," Jill remarked, and then he jumped a little as the handjob became a blowjob and he climaxed much faster than he had since they'd separated.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw her grinning down at him. "Can it be my turn now?" She asked and then leaned over him and kissed him. "Or did I wear you out?"

"Oh, no, you can have a turn," Christian replied, getting off the couch and asking her to hold onto his boxers as he carried her to their bed. "But it'll be much better for you if we do it in here."

"All right," Jill nodded as he laid her down on the mattress. He then helped her undress, climbed in beside her and gently took her in his arms, kissing her and then pulling away to see how she reacted.

"What's that?" She asked, making a face.

"I'm being gentle," he told her. "I don't want to freak you out and make you run away."

"Well, stop, cause you don't have to worry," Jill told him. "Earlier today, Sophia reminded me of something and…and it made me feel better. Before, I was scared of getting close to you because I thought that if our fathers pitted us against each other again, I'd have to throw our whole relationship down the toilet again and I just…the thought scared me. That's why I kept you at a distance. It wasn't because I didn't love you or didn't want to be with you."

"Well, that's good to know," Christian nodded. "What changed your mind?"

"Sophia pointed out that from the time you and I first were together, I knew it would end badly, yet I still made the most of the good time that we had, so why couldn't I do that again? Why was I letting my fear rule me this time when, as you say, I've shown in a big way that I'm past the stuff that kept me away before," Jill replied. "I decided after some thought that she had a point, so here I am. But I…I wanted you to make the first move. I thought it would be better that way."

" _You_ made the first move," Christian pointed out.

"Yeah, but you initiated the conversation that inspired me to make the first move, so there you go," Jill told him. "We worked together."

"Anything else you need to get out?" Christian asked. "Otherwise, I need to remind you that we're both naked here and you'll have more of a chance of getting lucky if we stop talking." He grinned widely. "And since you don't want gentle, what _do_ you want?"

"Well, since, in a way, we're starting over, why don't you do one of the first things you did to me?" Jill suggested. "Blindfold, darkness, ice?"

Christian grinned and kissed her belly before getting off the bed. "Good choice," he said. "I always love a classic." When he came back, she was sitting up and she'd already tied the blindfold over her eyes. "You need some help with your wrists?" He asked.

"Yes, please," Jill nodded as he put the bowl of ice he held on the dresser, grabbed the red scarf he'd tie her wrists with out of the dresser, pulled the covers aside again and climbed in beside her. He restrained her wrists, then shut off the lights and grabbed an ice cube, running it slowly over Jill's neck, arms, legs, and belly before it melted and then he parted her legs and slowly pleasured her with his tongue.

"Oh, that's even better," She remarked, the sensations she felt even more intensified by the darkness she was bathed in. "Good, keep going!" After she climaxed, she felt his tongue move upward and swirl slowly around her belly button as his hand gently rubbed her inner thighs.

"Come inside me, Christian, please," she urged in a breathy voice, her hips bucking ever so slightly as she threw her arms around his neck. She radiated need and he knew it was time to give her some relief.

He pushed into her over and over again as she cried out his name, and soon, spent from effort, they collapsed on top of one another in a heap. Then, because he was feeling a little mischievous, he left the bed, grabbed the bucket of ice water on the dresser, and dumped it on her as she let out a shriek.

"What the fuck did you do _that_ for?" She cried,

"I thought you might need to cool off after all that," he said and removed the blindfold, then undid the scarf. "Am I wrong?"

"Well, actually no," Jill shook the extra water from her hair like a dog. "It…it actually did me a lot of good. It just surprised me." She grinned. "Kind of like you."

He gave her a small smile as he took her hand and kissed the palm. "I'm glad we can be like this again," he told her. "I missed it. Did you?"

"Yeah," Jill nodded. "If you mean us being able to just sit in our bed and cuddle and talk…yeah, I missed that. I know you probably think I didn't, but I did."

They gave each other a long look, then he pulled her close and held her tight so that she'd never be able to run away from him again.


	27. Out With The Old And In With The New

After their encounter in the sex shop dressing room, Sophia didn't hear anything from Eric. At first, she enjoyed it. But after a while, she found it unsettling.

"Do you think he's up to something?" She asked Lilith. "Or…." She gasped. "What if he picked another girl? That's not right! He can't do that!"

"Why not?" Lilith asked. "If that's the case, you've dodged a bullet."

"Maybe," Sophia pouted. "But who knows?"

After she and Lilith parted ways, she drove to the gym and strode to the front desk where Patrick had his camera on and was engaging in another (this time unsexy) conversation with Addie, which she interrupted. "Hey!" She cried and rapped on the desk, causing him to frown at her. "Have you seen Eric? Where the hell is he?"

"I don't know, look around," her uncle told her.

So she did, and as she passed the sauna, Eric stepped out, towel wrapped snugly around his waist, and pinned her against the wall. "You miss me?" He breathed. "Is that why you're here?"

"No," Sophia shook her head. "But I think I'm entitled to know why you ran away from me like that and haven't said a word to me since, you big chicken." She locked eyes with him and waited for his answer.

She could tell he was clearly uncomfortable with the question. Uncertainty filled his eyes and he jumped from foot to foot. Then he grabbed her and kissed her.

"Now why would we want to talk about something silly like that?" He wanted to know. "I realize that you missed me and living without me is very difficult for you, but…since I'm here now and ready to resume our amorous activities, why dwell on the past?"

"Is this a habit of yours?" Sophia demanded. "Trying to get women to like you and just running out on them?"

"Even if it was, it wouldn't apply to you," Eric informed her. "Remember, we have plans."

"Oh, yes, I'm very well aware," Sophia nodded. "How could I not be? Now, are you gonna at least apologize to me for what you did?"

"What's there to apologize for?" Eric asked. "What did I do wrong?"

"What did you do wrong?" Sophia repeated. "Are you insane? Who runs out on an underdressed woman in a dressing room like that? Think of all the effort I put in to make you impressed it and it was all for nothing!"

Eric grinned. "You wanted to impress me?" He took a few steps toward her and pulled her to himself. "Well, that's a surprise."

"Don't get too excited," Sophia tried to pull away. "Since you were so unreceptive to my first effort, I don't know if I'll be motivated to do it again."

"Oh, come on!" Eric pouted. "That's not fair!"

"You know what's not fair?" Sophia questioned. "The fact that I'm probably never gonna see the nice guy who saved me from those idiots who pelted me with rocks and stuff ever again because you're so busy trying to seduce me in the most idiotic way possible. That's what's not fair."

Once again, Eric didn't know how to respond to that. Saving her had only been about protecting his property from damage in his mind, but apparently, to her it had been a nice gesture. Wasn't that convenient? He grinned at her and cleared his throat. "You know, I'm really sorry for ditching you," he apologized and kissed her hand. "And as a way to show you how sorry I am, would you like me to take you out to lunch? Have you eaten yet?"

"No, I haven't, and I think I could go to lunch with you, but you might want to put on more than a towel before we go," Sophia reminded him.

"Oh!" Eric chuckled. "Right. No shirt, no shoes, no service."

She waited for him at the snack bar and as she sat and drank a Coke, a young man with dark hair and light brown eyes approached the empty stool beside her with caution. "May I sit here?" He asked. His emotions were really getting the better of him and for a moment, he turned a deep shade of blue, which lasted a little longer when Sophia smiled and spoke to him.

"Sure," she replied. "Go ahead."

"Really?" He asked in surprise as he sat down. "Thanks! I thought for sure you were gonna say 'No'. Anyone else in your position would."

"And just what _is_ my position?" Sophia asked curiously and put her drink down. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I've seen you with Eric before," the young man explained. "You must be someone pretty important. Definitely a gray one or a white one. Are you?" His eyes then widened and he put a hand over his mouth. "Oh, god. You better not be human! I just should have kept my mouth shut!"

"Wait a minute, calm down," Sophia touched his arm and he stopped to breathe. When he was sitting on the stool again and breathing normally, Sophia tried to assure him. "I'm a gray one," she said. "But I'm new to all this demon stuff, so I don't see any reason why I should hate you. As for me and Eric…yeah, he says he has plans for us, but I'm not entirely convinced about them yet. And even so, that's no reason why you and I can't be friends, is it?"

"No, but he won't like it," the young man told her.

"I don't care," Sophia smiled and reached out for his hand. "I'm Sophia. Can I get you anything?"

"Teddy," the young man told her and gave her hand a squeeze. "And as long as you're offering, I wouldn't mind a burger."

"All right," Sophia nodded. "Coming right up."

It was as they sat companionably side by side, her drinking her drink and him eating his burger, that Eric strode up to her and asked what in the world she thought she was doing.

"I was just talking to my friend!" She told him. "You know, he said you would react this way when you saw us together. What is your _problem_?"

"I probably shouldn't be so mean because you're new to the demon world," Eric conceded. "I'm sorry. But you have to realize that he is a blue one and people like us don't hang out with people like him."

"Why not?" Sophia asked. "What makes you think you're better than he is?"

"Cause I just am!" Eric shrugged. "That's how it's always been."

Sophia sighed. "Well, I'm gonna keep being friends with him because I think he's nice and I don't care what color he is. If you want us to have any sort of relationship, you won't stand in the way of that."

"Oh, all right, fine," Eric sighed. "Just as long as you promise not to have sex with him or anything."

"Why would I do that?" Sophia questioned. "I mean, with him? I'm sure there might be other guys who could catch my eye and give you legit reasons to be pissed off, but Teddy won't be one of them."

"You better be joking about that," Eric growled as he grabbed her arm and marched her the rest of the way out to his car.

"I'm not," Sophia replied. "I mean it. Now, I see no reason to keep talking about it and ruining our lunch. Do you?"

"No," Eric huffed and started to drive. "I guess not."

"Good for you," Sophia grinned and patted his leg. "That was a very mature decision."

* * *

Because they didn't have much time to eat on account of Eric having to return to the club and check to make sure everything was still going along swimmingly, they got fast food and ate it while sitting on either side of a red table and benches outside the restaurant.

"We'll have better meals than this in the future," Eric promised.

"I don't see what's so bad about it," Sophia shrugged. "The birds are singing, the sun is out…it's nice."

"But there's too many people!" Eric glared at a family at the next table over who were letting their little kids run around and shriek. "We have no privacy!"

"What were you hoping we would do?" Sophia grinned. "Make out right here in the open?"

"No," Eric shook his head. "At the very least, that's what we do in the car."

"Well I hope you have a mint if you're hoping to make out with me after you eat all those onions on that sandwich," Sophia remarked and scarfed down her chicken strips and shake.

"Don't worry," Eric assured her. "There's a few in the bag."

After their food was gone and the trash thrown away, they headed back to Eric's car and headed for the backseat. "Are you sure you wanna do this now?" He asked.

"Oh, my gosh, are you actually being considerate and gentlemanly?" Sophia gasped. "I don't believe it!"

"I'm serious," Eric told her. "I don't want to do this just to do it. I want it to actually be enjoyable for both of us."

"Me too," Sophia smiled.

"You know, you have a lovely smile," Eric complimented. "I'd like to see more of it."

"You play your cards right and I have a feeling that won't be a problem," Sophia told him.

They drove back to the gym and Eric checked everything out. When it all seemed all right, he led Sophia into the ladies' locker room.

"What are we in here for?" She asked. "Are you wanting to look at other girls?"

"No," Eric shook his head, pushing her against the wall and kissing her soundly. "The showers in the men's room are currently being worked on, so we have to use these. Are you satisfied with that explanation?"

"I guess," Sophia shrugged. "It's better than nothing." They got further inside and he pushed her under the shower with her clothes still on and joined her soon after. They then peeled off their shirts and kissed slowly and hungrily as they were both drenched with water from overhead.

"That…that's good," Sophia nodded as Eric gently sucked on her nipples and then kissed her belly. He thought about undressing her the rest of the way, but stopped himself. He didn't have much time until someone came looking for him. They continued to make out under the water until they heard people come in and then they separated, dressed, dried themselves off, and went on with their day like nothing had happened.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sophia was not the only one who was missing a man and intent on doing something about it. After mourning what had happened to their daughter and Sean's departure for so long that her parents were beginning to worry, Sarah finally decided one day to get up, get dressed, and do what she had to in order to end her misery.

"Daddy, where are you putting Sean's letters to me?" She asked Matthew. "I hope you haven't thrown them away because I haven't been in the mood to read them lately."

"Oh, no, of course not," Matthew shook his head and pointed to a stack of unopened mail by the phone. "I thought you would want them eventually, so I put them all there by the phone, in chronological order."

"Thank you!" She exclaimed and hugged him hard. "I'm ready to read them now."

"Well, isn't that wonderful?" Matthew smiled. "So glad to see you're feeling better. I was really worried about you, you know."

"That's touching," Sarah told him. "Thanks for not committing me for being depressed or whatever they did with upset women when you were human."

"They didn't do that to _everyone_ ," Matthew told her. "Granted it happened much more than it should have, sometimes by men who just had no patience and wanted their wives out of the way, but at the same time, we didn't know as much about the workings of the mind then as we do now. According to the postmark of the last letter, Sean's in London now."

"Oh, isn't that nice?" Sarah grinned. "I've always wanted to go there!" She tore open the latest letter and read it over quickly, realizing at the same time that Junior's birthday was coming up. Now that she knew where he was, it wouldn't be too hard to figure out what to get him for a present.

In his flat near the college where he was studying medicine (having gotten in because of the use of his vampire powers some time before John took them away) Junior was going through his mail when he found a letter with a stamp on it from America, the name on the return address making his heart soar. He opened it and read it eagerly.

 _Hi, Sean!_

 _I know I haven't written or replied to any of your letters, but just knowing they're there in the midst of everything has been a real source of relief for me. I'm feeling better now, and I didn't want you to think that I'd forgotten your birthday, so I thought I would write you. I have a birthday present in mind, but it might be a little late. It's kind of big, too. I hope you don't mind. I hope things are going well for you and that you're going to be a big and awesome doctor someday. You can do it. I know you can._

 _Love,_

 _Sarah_

Junior read the letter a few times, the wording of it sinking in. He hoped the surprise wasn't that she was coming to visit. If she was, she was gonna be _very_ disappointed in him. As much as he'd missed Sarah, months and months of no contact had made him give up hope for the two of them. He'd assumed she'd moved on, so he allowed himself to, and for the last few months, he'd been entertaining a new romance with his neighbor across the hall, an aspiring singer named Faye.

 _The first time they'd met was when he'd moved in. As he'd sat down on his sofa with some fast food, he'd heard a knock on his door. Curious, he put his food down and went to answer it, finding a small redhead with big blue eyes on the other side. She was holding a basket of vegetables in one hand and a plate of baked goods in the other. "Hi!" She smiled. "You just moved in, right? I thought I would come over and introduce myself. My name is Faye." She put everything in her arms on the ground and shook his hand as he told her his name._

" _I'm so touched you came over here to welcome me," he remarked and invited her in. "But you could have put your groceries away first."_

" _Oh, no, these are for you," she said and gestured for him to take them. "I figured you could use some vegetables from my garden, and everyone likes sweets, don't they?"_

" _Yes," Junior nodded and invited her in after picking up the basket of vegetables. "I sure do."_

 _When they were both sitting on the sofa with drinks in hand and his fast food was thrown away, Junior cleared his throat. "I'm Sean. What's your name?"_

" _Faye," the redhead replied with a smile. "Lovely to meet you. You're American. Have you been here long?"_

" _No," Junior shook his head. "Just came a few weeks ago to begin my path to become a doctor."_

" _Oh, really?" Fay smiled and tossed her red head. "That is so fascinating! What will you do when you're not doctoring?"_

" _Well, my first goal when I moved down here was that I would really try and learn how to cook," he told her. "And I was thinking I could start with coming up with something that would use these vegetables. You wouldn't have any ideas, would you?"_

" _I have a few," Faye nodded. "If you wanted, I could come over tonight with a few recipes for you."_

" _I would love that, thanks!" Sean smiled. "See you tonight!"_

* * *

 _As promised, she came over later in the evening with three recipes in hand: One for salsa, one for a broccoli soup, and a third for a quiche._

" _I know you probably won't like all of these, but they're just something to experiment with," she told him. "I hope you enjoy." She turned to go and then he stopped her._

" _Would you help me make the salsa?" He asked. "It would be perfect for the chips I've got. Or the crisps."_

 _She smiled and came back to join him as they pulled out bowls and cutlery. "All right," she told him. "I would love that."_

 _When the chips and salsa were consumed, Faye looked at the clock, thanked him, and said that she needed to get home._

" _I understand," he nodded. "It was lovely to meet you. Thanks for helping me with the salsa. It was very good."_

" _Yeah," Faye grinned. "It was." She headed to the door, but as she put her hand on the knob, Junior spoke._

" _Could I maybe, give you a kiss before you go?" He asked._

 _She smiled and nodded, leaning forward and kissing him._

 _He kept it gentle, if not exactly quick, and when they parted, he realized he couldn't wait for them to do it again. "Goodnight," he told her. "Do you need me to walk you home?"_

" _I only live across the hall," she reminded him gently. "I think I can make it, but you're very sweet to offer."_

" _Right," he chuckled. "What was I thinking? That was an idiotic thing to say."_

" _No it wasn't," she shook her head. "I'm very touched. And I just…I want to say that I'm very glad you moved into the building."_

" _Yeah," Sean nodded. "I'm glad too. Goodnight, Faye."_

" _Goodnight, Sean." She gave him one last grin, shut the door, and headed to her apartment, with Sean waiting until he heard her door close before he turned on the TV and went to have a another look at the recipes she'd brought._


	28. Taken To The Tower

"Thanks for making me a birthday breakfast," Junior told Faye as she cut him off a cinnamon roll from the bunch and put it on a plate for him, along with eggs, bacon, pancakes, and a bunch of other stuff that he wasn't sure he'd be able to finish. "It was very sweet of you."

"Of course," Faye told him. "You shouldn't be alone on your birthday and since I'm one of the few people you know here, I thought I should do something."

"Well, I'm very impressed," Junior smiled at her. "You're right that I don't know many people here, but I'm glad I know you."

The doorbell rang and Faye ran to it. "Who do you think that is?" She asked. "Do you think it's someone coming to bring you a present?"

"Maybe," Junior remarked and stood up. "I'm expecting something from a family friend back home. Her name's Sarah. I wish you could meet her. I think you'd get along."

"Really?" Faye asked and grabbed the doorknob, pulling the door open. When the person on the other side was let in, Junior's eyes widened.

"Oh, my god," he muttered.

"Happy birthday, Sean!" Sarah smiled, her brown eyes sparkling as she hugged him. "Miss me? I hope you're not too surprised. I tried to drop hints about coming in that letter I sent you. You got the letter, right?"

"Yeah…" Junior nodded as he prayed fervently that there wouldn't be any trouble between Faye and Sarah. "I got the letter."

"You don't seem very pleased that I came," Sarah remarked. "Since I came all the way here from America, I expected more of a welcome."

"Yeah, sorry," Junior apologized. "I haven't had my coffee yet. You know how I get when I haven't had my coffee."

"Yes, right," Sarah cleared her throat and stuck her hand out to Faye. "Hi," she greeted her. "I'm Sarah, Sean's girlfriend. Who are you?"

"I'm his neighbor, Faye," Faye replied. "We cook together sometimes. You say you're his girlfriend; it's funny, because he's not mentioned you before."

"He hasn't?" Sarah turned to face Junior, her eyes narrowed. "Isn't that strange?"

"Well, you can't blame me for thinking we're done when you don't reply to any of my letters after I've written a million of them," Junior pointed out, refusing to be shamed for living his life.

"If you wanted us to break up you could have said so," Sarah pointed out. "Then I wouldn't have flown all the way over here to make a complete fool of myself!"

"I didn't mean for you to feel like a fool!" Junior tried to reason with her. "I just thought you would come here and understand, and then we could all be friends and celebrate my birthday together."

Sarah narrowed her eyes. "I hope a threesome's not what you're after cause that's not going to happen."

"No, it isn't," Faye assured her. "I don't intend on giving myself to any man until there's a ring on my finger."

"Well, that's very refreshing," Sarah told her. "Good for you." She went to get some water from the pitcher in the fridge, and as she held it over her cup and the water began to stream out, it suddenly changed direction and got all over her shirt, making her shriek.

"Oh, my goodness, how did that happen?" Faye cried, but did nothing to go and clean it up as she was too busy smirking behind Sarah's back.

When Sarah finally did have her water, she went to sit at the kitchen table and the chair she meant to sit in slid out from underneath her and she landed hard on the floor.

"Oh, are you all right?" Junior came running over to her. "Shit. Here, let me help you up."

"Thanks," Sarah told him. "I don't know how the chair could have moved."

"Yes," Faye looked at Sarah disdainfully. "I wonder how."

"What is your problem?" Sarah cried. "I never did anything to you. I don't know why you have to be so mean." She was going to speak some more, undoubtedly to say something insulting, but Junior quickly put a hand over her mouth. "She's a fairy," he told her. "Don't you dare say anything to insult her or I'll be screwed."

Faye quickly stood up. "How in the world do you know I'm a fairy? Is it the hair? My powers? Did you look at me and just assume?"

"No, it's not just your hair," Junior told her with a shake of his head. "Ever since we met, I only see you at night except for today. My apartment's been cleaner than ever without me doing a thing. You look out for me."

"Yes, but anyone can do that," Faye reasoned, her arms crossed as she tried to stare him down. "That doesn't mean I'm a fairy."

"You're overly cheerful, you play pranks on people who piss you off, and your name means 'fairy'," Junior reminded her. "Not very subtle, are you?"

"Well, I wasn't sure you were going to figure that out," Faye confessed. "Humans don't usually pay attention to stuff like that."

"Since we're sharing, I'm not a human," Junior said. "Well, I am at the moment but that's only because my extremely powerful warlock birth father threw a fit and deprived a bunch of people of their powers, including me, but I'll get them back soon."

Faye then reached out and took his hand. "Oh, but I knew that," she said. "You're a McCullough, aren't you? That means you have the power. I was wondering where yours went, but now it's good to know. I've been following your family for years, and I was confused."

"What?" Junior's eyes widened. He pulled his hand out of hers and backed away. "What do you mean? Am I gonna die soon? Be honest with me."

"How would I know when you're going to die?" Faye questioned. "Calm down. I'm a fairy, not a banshee."

"Oh," Junior took a few deep breaths. "Okay, good. I feel better."

But Sarah still didn't. "You take care of him?" She asked. "What makes you think you can just waltz in here and do that?"

"Well, as I said, I didn't know about you until right now, so it wasn't like I was deliberately ruining things for you," Faye told her. "And I don't want to, because Sean's happiness is my priority, so if you make him happy, I'm not going to try and stand in the way, although now I really wonder what's going through his mind when he pines for you."

"I don't pine!" Junior cried irritably.

"Why not?" Sarah asked. "I'm a whole ocean away and you can't even be bothered to miss me?"

"Not when _you_ can't be bothered to show that you miss me back," Junior pointed out.

It was then that frustration really built up in Sarah. She'd put his present on the table, but now she threw it at him, trying not to burst into tears while he and Faye were watching, and then stormed from the apartment and sobbed in the nearby stairwell for what seemed like ages before trying to figure out what she was gonna do next.

* * *

"What do you come here for?" Sophia asked Teddy when she found him reading a book in the snack bar in the gym as she had ever since they'd met. "You don't look like the work out type."

"I actually have a great fondness for the pool," Teddy told her. "And sometimes I use the small weights. But I really don't desire to become a muscle man."

"Ah," Sophia nodded. "That's cool. I like the pool too." She tiptoed a little closer. "Can I sit?" She asked. "I don't want to interrupt your reading."

"Sure," Teddy replied. Once she'd sat down, Teddy put down his book and cast a hunted look around, then caught Sophia's eye. "I think I'd like to kiss you, if that's all right," he said.

She was a bit surprised, but also excited. She'd never kissed anyone but Eric and she wondered what it would feel like to kiss someone she had some fondness for. "All right," she nodded. "Just a kiss, right? You don't want us to start dating or anything?"

"No," Teddy shook his head. "Unless you want to."

"I don't know about that," Sophia replied.

They again made sure there was no Eric about, then leaned forward and kissed each other. On the lips. When they pulled apart, they both took deep breaths, smiled at each other, and then went back to their business. But just when they were convinced they'd gotten away with it, Eric came up behind her, lifted her and lifted her off the bar stool, and the last thing she saw as he carried her away was the panicked look on Teddy's face.

* * *

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Sophia cried. Eric hadn't been around to witness her and Teddy's kiss, but since it was his gym, he had spies everywhere, especially when it came to her, and someone had ratted her out. Now she was hanging over Eric's shoulder and suffering the indignity of being carried that way out of the gym. "What's wrong with you? Is this about the kiss? It was one time! It's not like it's gonna happen again."

"No, it's not," Eric agreed. His face was red with anger and it was his demon face she saw as he stuffed her into his car. "Because you are going to be staying somewhere where I can keep an eye on you and make sure you do what you're supposed to."

"And what's that?" Sophia snapped. "Marry you and bear your children?"

"Exactly!" Eric nodded. "What else?" He shuddered. "A blue one?" He asked. "Of all the guys you could have cheated on me with, you picked a _blue one?"_

"What's the big problem with blue ones anyway?" Sophia questioned. "Are they not as smart, or what?"

"No, they're _very_ smart," Eric corrected. "And if we just let them run wild, they'd overtake the rest of us, so we have to scare them and make them keep to the background. That weasel probably only befriended you to cause trouble for me."

"Or it's because he's nice!" Sophia offered the alternative.

Eric gave her a look of pity. "Oh, darling," he said. "It's words like that that make me glad I took you away when I did, before you really screwed things up for me. I really dodged a bullet."

Sophia opened her mouth to protest again, but soon realized that it was useless. He was stuck in his way of thinking and nothing she said would change it. She maintained silence and looked out the window until Eric parked his car in front of a large, sleek white house with many windows that was built into the side of a mountain. "What the hell is that?" She asked, stunned into speaking.

Eric smiled and put his arm around her. He knew that seeing the house would shock her into speech. "It's our hideout. It used to be in a cave, but I figured it would be better to modernize. Like it?"

"Yeah!" Sophia exclaimed, then continued in a less impressed voice, "I mean, it's all right, I guess."

Eric chuckled. "You're a terrible liar," he told her. "Come on."

* * *

The inside of the house was much bigger than one would expect from looking at the outside. Eric led her through a large, airy entryway, and into rooms that were just as big.

"My god," she remarked as she collapsed on a sofa. "That roadway up to the front door is steep. Good thing we had magic for when I got tired, otherwise, I'd be dead."

"Well, we do what we have to in the name of security," Eric said and began undressing. "Once you've rested, you can join me in the bedroom."

"Just a minute now!" Sophia exclaimed. "You realize you brought me here without giving me a chance to pack or tell anyone else where I am, don't you? My parents will be worried sick! What do you want me to do about that?"

He handed her a phone. "You may call them and tell them that you're sorry, but they'll never hear from you again because you've begun a new stage in life and their presence in it is unnecessary. As for your clothes, you don't have to worry about that. Every closet in this house is filled to overflowing with things that will make you look wonderful. I promise."

"Oh, I'm sure," Sophia replied through her teeth.

"Go change into something more comfortable," Eric demanded, pointing down a hallway. "Now."

"I can't believe you," she told him. "I can't believe that the same man who was so sweet saving me from those idiots throwing rocks would take me away from my family and my friends for his own selfish reasons and not give a damn about how I feel. But I guess that was a fluke and our whole relationship is all about you, isn't it?"

Eric's facial expression was tightly controlled. The truth was, her words _did_ make him feel some shame, but he couldn't let her see that. "Will you just _go_?" he asked.

She groaned and stomped off, just reaching into a closet and pulling out the first thing she saw, then heading to the nearest bathroom and slamming the door behind her before she changed.

It was as she was changing that she realized she had her cell phone in her pocket. Praying it would still work, she called Lilith.

"Hi!" Lilith answered brightly after she identified herself. "Wanna do something tonight?"

"I can't," Sophia told her. "Eric kidnapped me and took me to some demon hideout on the side of a mountain. He didn't give me time to pack or anything. Will you go and tell my parents where I am? Please? I know I could call them, but I don't want to risk it."

"Sure," Lilith nodded. "I'll do it for you. Don't worry."

"Thank you," Sophia breathed a sigh of relief. "You're a real life saver."

* * *

Not sure how Christian and Jill would react to her, Lilith decided that if she brought Caleb with her, at least Jill might be more willing to let her in their house. She knocked on the door and when he answered and opened his mouth, she told him, "I know it's a big shock to see me, but before you ask, no, I can't have sex with you. There's no time! Your niece is in trouble and I need you to help me help her."

"Sophia's in trouble?" Caleb questioned. "What happened?"

"Eric kidnapped her and took her to the demon headquarters to begin his plans with her," Lilith explained. "Apparently, she's not allowed to tell Jill or Christian where she is, so I've been enlisted to do it for her…along with a few other errands."

"And what did you need me for?" Caleb asked. "This isn't gonna be like a _date_ or anything, is it?"

"No, it's a rescue!" Lilith snapped. "We can't be distracted by anything else. I need you to be the person who will convince Jill it's okay to let me into her house, cause I don't know if she hates me or not and I can't take the time to try and reason with her if she does."

"Ah," Caleb nodded. "I understand. Let's go."

* * *

"Lilith? Caleb?" Christian asked. "Are you two back together again? It's so back and forth with you two, it's hard to keep track."

"No, we're not officially together at the moment," Lilith told him. "I just thought I wouldn't be let in this house if I didn't have someone you trusted with me. I came to tell you that your daughter has been kidnapped by Eric and he's told her that she's not allowed to contact you ever again because she'll be busy helping him with his plan."

"And we're just supposed to accept that?" Christian raised an eyebrow. "Is he an idiot or what?"

"I know," Lilith nodded. "That's probably why he didn't want you to know anything. Anyway, she was taken so quickly that she didn't have time to get everything she needed. I'm here to get the rest of her necessary stuff."

"Well, isn't that nice of you?" Christian smiled. "You can proceed."

"Thank you," Lilith replied and brought Caleb to Sophia's bedroom where she began pulling out drawers and looking under things.

"What are you hoping to find?" Caleb questioned as he looked with her. That brought her eyes to his…before they moved to his butt and the very distinct bulge at the front of his pants. Lilith felt herself getting hot and she tried to stave off her feelings.

"No!" She whispered. "You have to help Sophia! You have to focus!" Then she told Caleb, "I'm looking for those birth control pill thingies," she told him. "Sophia's gonna need those if she doesn't want to have any of Eric's children right now."

"They're usually kept in the bathroom medicine cabinet," Caleb informed her. "I'll go look there."

"All right," Lilith nodded. "You do that."

Caleb's instincts were on target and soon, Lilith had Sophia's pills. "Where do you have to go now?" He asked. "Would you like me to come with you? Would it be safer?"

"No," Lilith shook her head as she put a hand on his cheek. "But you're very sweet to offer, though." She gave him a long hug and then waved goodbye, disappearing from the room before Caleb even had time to respond.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing here?" Eric cried when he saw her. "Go away!"

"I will, I will," Lilith assured him. "Keep your pants on. And I literally mean that. Where's Sophia? I have some stuff she didn't have time to get when you rushed her out here."

"She's supposed to be changing into something more comfortable, but if you're here, I doubt she's doing it," Eric replied dryly.

Lilith quickly searched the rooms and to her surprise, found Sophia sitting on the bed in one of them in a red lace nightie. "Really?" She asked as she handed her the pills and a bag with some of her more comfortable clothes in it. "You're just gonna give into him? I thought you would fight it more."

"I would, but you said that the more I fight, the more aroused he becomes," Sophia reminded her. "The more he wants me. So I figure that if I give into him now, he'll lose interest, and then I can go home."

"I don't know if that will work, but it's worth a shot," Lilith told her. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Sophia smiled. "And thanks for bringing me my pills. You're a good friend." She went to get a glass of water and popped one in her mouth.

"Hey," Lilith blushed. "I do what I can." She went to pester Eric some more just for the fun of it and then she finally left.

* * *

When she was gone, Sophia left the bathroom and strode to the living room. "Hi, Eric," got out in a breathy voice as she came to sit on his lap. "I heard Lilith giving you trouble. I can help you feel better." She kissed him, then got off his lap and grabbed his hand. "Let's have some fun." She tried not to laugh at the dumbstruck look on Eric's face. He'd planned for their battle to be more drawn out, that was for sure.

But by the time they got to the bedroom, he was more in control. He set her down on the bed and made sure she was watching as he undressed, and then, giving her a smirk, came to join her on the bed. It didn't take much effort for him to remove the flimsy negligee she wore, and soon she was as naked as he was. He had planned for their first encounter to be rough, so he could make clear who was in control between the two of them. But then she'd gone and reminded him of that night in the park, and that made him change his mind. At least this time.

He started out by pulling her close to his body and kissing her gently: Her lips, her neck, her forehead, her hair, and her earlobes. Then, he lowered her onto the mattress and smiled at her gently. "I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered. "Unless you want me to. Do you like it rough, or not?"

She gave him a smile. "Surprise me," she grinned. "You can do that, can't you?" She reached up to tousle his dark hair, and he parted her legs, kissing up her thighs as she moaned. Then she gasped as she felt him pleasure her with his tongue. It was much better when she was lying down like this and not standing up. "Better," she got out. "Oh, yes, Eric, that's so much _better!_ " She grabbed the edge of the mattress, clutching it tight as she climaxed. Then, he looked up, grinning. "Are you okay?" He asked. "Have you had enough?"

"Oh, I think not," she grinned. "Keep going."

That was when he repositioned himself and pushed into her over and over again. When they were both exhausted for the moment, they rested, then she reached out, took his hand, and gently sucked on his finger. His cock began to throb and he grabbed her again. "Are you trying to kill me?" He asked, his eyes wide.

She grinned. "You seem surprised," she remarked, pushing a strand of curly blonde hair out of her face before putting her lips against his ear. "And that makes me wonder what sort of girl you thought you were bringing here today."

"Nothing like the kind of woman I got," he told her and kissed her palm. "That's for sure."


	29. An Unwilling Bride

Eric and Sophia were so enamored of each other that they continued their activities in bed and finally, the next morning as they both paused to take a breath, Sophia rested her head on Eric's bare chest as he played with her hair. "This probably goes without saying," she remarked, a light in her eyes as she gazed at him. "But I…I really like what we did last night."

"You know, I never would have guessed that," Eric chuckled. "You were so unenthusiastic." He gave her a kiss and she blushed, rolling away from him and onto her own part of the bed.

"You see how good we are together?" Eric told her when she was facing him again. "Maybe next time I tell you something, you'll believe me."

"That depends on what it is," Sophia replied, momentarily reminded of what she was doing. "I'm not an idiot, Eric."

"I don't know why you're so defensive," he told her and got out of bed, putting a robe on. "I wasn't talking about making you do anything bad. In case I wore you out, I want you to rest today, and then when you wake up, you'll find a present by your bed to wear to dinner tonight. It'll be as beautiful as you are." He grinned at her, left, and when he was gone, she put her face against her pillow, smiled, and squealed. He had some issues for sure, but Sophia was very certain she'd found her prince.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at her house, her parents didn't have as high of an opinion of Christian as she did. When Jill had heard about Sophia's kidnapping, she'd become understandably freaked out. "That bastard kidnapped our baby!" She yelled at Christian as she desperately clung to the lapels of his red button down shirt, tears falling down her cheeks, then punching him in the chest until she'd tired out. It didn't hurt him one bit, and he sensed that she needed some sort of outlet for her rage. "He's going to do something terrible to her! You have to save her! Oh, why did we let her out alone when we _knew_ that guy was after her?" She pulled at her hair and then sat down hard on the sofa, her demon face showing as she tried not to think about all the things that could be befalling Sophia at that very moment. Then she got up and ran for the door, but Christian grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Let me go!" She screamed, kicking him as she tried to free herself from his grip. "I have to save my baby! Do you not care she's been taken? How can you just sit on your ass and do nothing?"

"Because I know we need to plan first," Christian whispered in her ear. "I'm no less worried about this than you are, but we can't just go barreling there. We've known that Eric, who is a very powerful demon, has plans that involve our daughter. Now that he has her, he's not going to give her up easily. And if we fight him, she might get hurt. And I'm sure you don't want that, do you?"

"No," Jill sniffed. "Of course not."

"But I'll tell you what," Christian continued. "I'll talk to Lilith and get her to tell me where Sophia was taken. Then I'll go and try and get our daughter out and home safe. Okay?"

"Really?" Jill asked and hugged him hard. "Thank you Christian. Thank you!"

"Of course," Christian ran his hand over her back and kissed her hair. "I would do anything to keep you and Sophia safe, especially after everything that's happened between us. You know that."

* * *

Since he didn't know that Sophia's parents had any knowledge of anything, Eric was pleasantly surprised when Christian was shown in by the maid.

"Christian!" Eric came toward with a grin on his face. He tried to embrace the man he thought of as an old friend, but Christian stepped back. "What are you doing?" He asked, having no idea what Eric was alluding to. "If you're trying to distract me from the fact that you've kidnapped my daughter, it won't work. Give her back to me now and there'll be no need for bloodshed."

"Oh, I don't think so, old friend," Eric told him. "I've enjoyed your daughter very much, and I have many plans for her that I have no intention of spoiling, even for you. She's a very fine young woman. Very delectable. There's a reason why I made her grow up so fast. I saw how lovely she would be and I couldn't wait."

"You son of a bitch!" Christian cried and aimed a right hook at Eric's face. Eric ducked and avoided it.

"My mother would be so disappointed to hear you talking about her that way," Eric said as he grabbed Christian and pushed him against the wall. "She always loved to see you when you came to play with me when we were children."

"Excuse me?" Christian grunted again wondering what in the hell the villain was making reference to. "What in the hell are you talking about?"

"That's right, you don't remember," Eric told him. "But you'll find out in due time. I'll make sure of that."

"I'm sure it wouldn't shock you to know that I don't trust you at all," Christian spat when Eric finally let him go. "Let me see my daughter."

"No," Eric shook his head. "Because if I show her to you, you'll just try and take her away from me." He paused and gave a chuckle. "But I wouldn't blame you if you just wanted to look. She's a fine specimen, that girl."

Eric gritted his teeth. "Why do you keep talking about her like that? Are you trying to goad me into violence?"

"No," Eric shook his head. "I just want to make it clear to you why I took her in the first place, and how there's no way you're getting her back."

Christian sighed. Clearly there was no getting through to this man. He was beyond reason. But he had to be able to tell Jill _something_ when he returned home. He had to alleviate her worries. He owed her that much. "All right," he said. "If you won't allow me to bring my daughter home, can I at least see her so that I can assure her mother that she's not harmed? Jill is very worried about that."

"Do you refuse to leave until you see she's all right?" Eric asked.

"Of course," Christian nodded. "I'm her father!"

So Eric grabbed his arm and walked him to the bedroom where Sophia was sleeping soundly, letting him peek in the door, but not go any farther. "See? She's fine. Now you can go and tell your wife and not come back."

"Why is she sleeping? Have you drugged her?" Christian questioned.

"Since you're her father, I assume you won't want details of what I've actually done, but I can assure you what was done to make her sleep soundly didn't cause her any pain," Eric replied. "I promise."

"I don't trust you, but I have no other choice but to believe what you say, do I?"

"Exactly," Eric nodded. "You have that right. Are you going to go now?"

"Well, I don't have any other choice, do I?" Christian huffed.

"No," Eric shook his head. "You don't. Have the maid show you out. Goodbye, Christian."

Christian cursed Eric under his breath before doing what he asked. He wasn't looking forward to what Jill would say when he got home without their daughter.

Once he was gone, Eric went back to Sophia's room, watching her sleep for a moment as he came to a decision. With her parents on his trail, he needed to make his relationship with Sophia as binding as possible as soon as possible. He had planned to wait until they were on more friendly footing because he really wanted her to know that there was a part of him that cared about her and wanted her to care about him too, but he couldn't afford that anymore. He zapped up a box with a dress in it, put it on a chair by her bed, and then went to make plans for the evening with his housekeeper, Rosie, and some of the security guards because he knew without a doubt that once Sophia knew what was going on, he was going to need them.

* * *

When Sophia finally decided it was time to get out of bed and open the box that had been sitting on a nearby chair for a couple of hours, she was delighted to see a beautiful, high-necked gown with a long train. It was made out of pure silk too. It wasn't necessarily what she would have chosen for herself, but it was beautiful nonetheless. She put it on and then went to go look at herself in the mirror. It was as she looked at her reflection that she realized something. She seemed to be wearing a wedding dress. She ran to the open door and called for the housekeeper, who came into her room, escorted by three large men.

"Rosie, you must have made a mistake," she reasoned. "Why would you have me wear a wedding dress just to dinner?"

"There's no mistake," Rosie replied as the men grabbed Sophia. "The master wishes you to marry him tonight."

"Well, what if I don't want to marry the master?" Sophia asked as she struggled against the men who were holding her. "What is he thinking? How can you allow this?"

"It's not my place to refuse him," Rosie told her as they headed out of the room, and to the ballroom, which had been decorated for the wedding. "Isn't it lovely?" She sighed. "Now we must get you ready. We aren't supposed to dawdle."

Sophia stopped fighting for a moment, then managed a burst of speed and got free, running away.

"Damn," Rose swore as they ran after her. "The master won't like this."

They ran after Sophia, but she was faster than they were and they couldn't catch her. But they needed have worried. Soon after she set off, Sophia ran right into Eric's arms, baring her teeth as he looked her over and grinned.

"I know I'm not supposed to see my bride before the wedding, but it's a pleasure to see that my instincts were correct and you look _ravishing_ in that gown."

"Thanks, I guess," Sophia spat. "But I won't be wearing it for long because like I told Rosie, I'm not marrying you."

"Look, I planned to do this later because I wanted us to be on good footing when we were wed, but your parents are causing trouble for me," Eric told her. "Your father especially is plotting to ruin everything I'm working so hard to accomplish and I can't have that."

"How do you know my daddy knows about this?" She asked. "Did you see him? Did he come for me?"

"Yes," Eric huffed. "He did. But it was while you were sleeping and I managed to get him to go away."

"I can't believe that after all we shared last night, now you're pulling this crap," Sophia huffed. "You can be a real asshole sometimes, did you know that?"

"Well, knowing me as you do, I can't believe you thought that one nice evening was going to permanently dissuade me from my goals," Eric informed her. "I may be an asshole, but I'm dismayed to see that you're turning into a naïve fool."

Sophia heard that and scoffed. "Well, that's a nice way to talk to a woman on her wedding day."

"Well, can you blame me?" Eric replied, looking into her eyes and kissing her deeply.

"That was nice, but it doesn't change the way I feel about any of this," Sophia replied.

"What?" Eric frowned. "Why not? It usually does."

"Wait, were you trying to use your demon seduction powers on me?" Sophia narrowed her eyes. "How can you be so forgetful? I'm a gray one, you idiot. You can't just use your powers on me. Lilith says so!"

"I know!" Eric growled. "I thought that for this once, it would, though." He looked up at her. "Will you just play along so we can get this over with?"

"No, you idiot!" Sophia shook her head. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get out of this dress."

He let her go a few steps, then muttered a spell that made a rope appear in his hand, then shoot out and wrap around her ankle so that she fell on her face and he slowly dragged her back to him, picking her up and then, after tying her more securely, bringing her to Rosie so she could do her make-up and the wedding could begin.

"We're so sorry we let her get away," Rosie apologized. "But she's so _sneaky_!"

"Of course she is," Eric replied. "Don't blame yourselves. I wouldn't like her if she wasn't something of a challenge."

"Good to know," Sophia grinned. "I'll _definitely_ be more challenging in the future. You can count on that."

* * *

When Rosie told him that Sophia was finally ready, the wedding began. Eric stood at one end of the ballroom with the chairs in front of him filled with staff to act as wedding guests.

The wedding march began and everyone turned to stare as Sophia, with a rope around her waist and one man leading as another one pushing from behind, propelled her down the aisle while she frowned deeply at her husband to be.

"This isn't a good start to a marriage," she grumbled as the priest (how ironic, she thought) started saying the vows. Then Eric interrupted him.

"All this extra stuff is nice, but can we get to the important part, please?" He asked. "Unless we need the other stuff to make it all official, I don't want to hear it."

"Oh," the man nodded, eying Sophia with concern for a moment before going back to his speech. "Do you, Eric, take Sophia to be your lawfully wedded wife for as long as you both live?"

"Of course I do," Eric nodded.

"And do you, Sophia, take Eric to be your lawfully wedded husband for as long as you live?"

"Not really," Sophia replied. "But he won't let me go until I say 'Yes', so to be able to move on with my life, I guess I do take him to be my husband." She then asked Eric out of the corner of her mouth, "I did what you wanted. Are you happy?"

"Yes," Eric nodded. "As a matter of fact, I am. And because of that, you'll see how much nicer and easier things are when you play nice."

* * *

But if he thought he was gonna have a fun wedding night after what he put Sophia through for their wedding, he was _sorely_ mistaken.

After he had swaggered into the bedroom with a bottle of wine and two glasses in his hand, Sophia got up to go to the bathroom and change, which delighted him. But when she emerged, the first thing she did was kick him in the crotch a couple of times and when he was down on the ground and moaning and cursing, Sophia came and stood over him, a grin on her face as she poured herself a drink.

"Oh, dear," she said. "You must be in so much pain! Too much pain to have sex tonight. What a shame! I suppose we'll have to wait until you don't hurt so much!"

"You're not getting out of it that easily," he groaned and then winced as he started to get up, but realized that it would be best to stay laid out on the carpet until he was in less pain.

"Oh, come on, Eric," she got down on her knees beside him. "You're not so foolish that you'd try and have sex while you have that kind of injury, would you?"

"And that's why you did it, wasn't it?" Eric told her.

"I had to teach you a lesson," she shrugged. "You got off easy. I could have gotten you drunk and castrated you or something like that, but I didn't."

"You wouldn't have," Eric told her, unfazed by that last remark. "You don't hate me so much that you'd never get in bed with me again. You just want to teach me a lesson for tonight."

"Yes, I do," Sophia nodded. "But I have to wonder what good it will do. You'll say you learned anything just to get under my skirt again."

"No, I won't," Eric shook his head. "I don't feel any shame for what I did today, but I also…I suppose I understand why you feel the need to put me through this. Now that I've taken care of the next step in my plan, things will be better, I promise. _I'll_ be better."

"I don't know if I believe you," Sophia told him as she got up and headed to the bedroom door. "But it will be interesting to see, won't it?" She went and got him an ice pack for his crotch and then left him to spend the rest of his wedding night on the bedroom floor while she rested in comfort, having a big bed in another room all to herself.


	30. Looking For A Distraction

"I can't believe the two of you!" Margot chided Kol and Klaus. "Just hiding out here in the basement of our house eating pizza when you could be doing a million other things!"

"Would you lighten up?" Kol asked her. "We have no powers. We have to find some way to amuse ourselves. And your sister the tyrant won't let Nik eat junk food at home."

Margot sighed, wishing something would happen that would distract her husband and every other guy in the family from the fact that they had no powers. Something that would inspire them to be a bit more selfless.

It was as she was leaving the basement that the phone rang very insistently. She ran to get it since Kol didn't seem to want to move, delighted to hear her daughter Regina's voice on the other end of the line.

"Victoria just had her baby!" She cried. "It's a little girl!"

"That's wonderful!" Margot exclaimed. "Tell us when you want us to be there. I'm sure your father could use the distraction."

There was a silence on the other end of the line, and then Margot heard Victoria's tired voice.

"Hi, Grandma," she greeted.

"Hi," Margot replied. "So, I heard you just had a baby. Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Victoria told her. "It was hard, but definitely not as hard as with the twins."

"Yeah, I mean, you weren't possessed by your mother-in-law again, right?" Margot asked.

"Oh, damn, my mother-in-law!" Victoria groaned. "I forgot all about her, if you can believe that. She'll probably be waltzing in any day now, wanting to see her new granddaughter."

"I didn't mean to alarm you," Margot backpedaled quickly. "Try not to think about it until you need to, okay? Just enjoy your baby, all right?"

"I will," Victoria promised. "And so will Kai. You should see him right now. He's hardly let me touch her since she was born! Not that I'm complaining, cause I could use the rest at this point." She then went on so her grandmother wouldn't take that as a cue to end the conversation. "How are things at your house? Grandpa Kol's powers back yet?"

"No," Margot answered. "He and your uncle Klaus have taken to eating large amounts of food in the basement as protest against Amy's insistence that Klaus diet. It's kind of maddening. What I wouldn't give for him to go out and murder. He doesn't need his powers to do that." She paused. "Does Kai feel as bad about the loss of his powers as your grandfather?"

"No, thankfully," Victoria replied. "He's been so focused on the baby that he hasn't thought of much else. I feel lucky."

"Yeah, you really are," Margot nodded. "Do you want me to stop talking now so you can rest? I bet your mother is making signals for you to hang up."

"No, she says as long as I feel up to talking, I can talk," Victoria replied. "You think you can pull Grandpa away from his pizza long enough for me to tell him 'Hello'?"

"Oh, of course I can!" Margot assured her. "Just a minute." She took the phone away from her ear and marched downstairs with it, holding it out to her husband. "It's Victoria," she informed him. "She had her baby and she wants to talk to you."

"Well, isn't that nice?" Kol remarked and took the phone. "Hello, darling," he greeted Victoria. "So, I hear you're a mother again. How thrilling!"

"Yes," Victoria nodded, "It's much easier this time cause we know we're not in the same danger."

"I hope that husband of yours is happy about this and willing to help out," Kol told her. "Is he?"

"Oh, yes," Victoria assured him. "Like I told Grandma, he's overjoyed and he's barely let me have a second with her since she was born."

"Well, good," Kol got out. "That's just what I hoped to hear. I would have given him the message if it had been necessary."

"I know," Victoria replied. "Which is why I'm glad it's not. Grandma says she's going to come and visit me and the baby tomorrow. Will you come with her, please?"

"Of course, since you asked," Kol told her. "I'd be delighted. I'll even be nice to that husband of yours."

"Thank you," Victoria replied. "I'd appreciate that."

* * *

"Since we're here now, you can take a break, Regina," Margot told her daughter as she and Kol strode into the room and her dozing daughter's head snapped up.

"Oh, I'm fine," Regina tried to assure her. But she couldn't fool her mother.

"I know you're exhausted," Margot insisted. "Go and have some coffee, maybe even head home for a bit to get some rest. We'll take your place. We'll be here when Victoria wakes up."

"Do I really look that tired?" Regina groaned. "Declan and I have been taking shifts, so it's not like I've been here forever."

Just then, her husband came back from the cafeteria. He had a hot chocolate for her.

"I asked you to get me a coffee," she reminded him.

"You shouldn't have any more of that," Declan told her firmly. "You have one more cup and you'll end up like Jonathan with his caffeine overdose. I don't want to be in a hospital for any other reason than something happy. You drink your hot chocolate and then I'm taking you home and tucking you in."

"I hope she listens to you," Margot told him. "I'm not having much success."

"You won't even listen to your mother?" Declan asked Regina. "I have half a mind to give you a spanking when we get home. But I won't cause that will just distract you." He watched his wife until she finished her hot chocolate, a sparkle in her big blue eyes, before pulling her up from her chair, letting her kiss the sleeping Victoria goodbye, and then leading her out of the hospital room.

Then Kol and Margot took places on either side of their granddaughter's bed, taking her hand and waiting for her to wake up.

"You made it!" She cried when her eyes opened. She sat up and looked around. "They must've taken the baby when I fell asleep. But I'm sure Kai will be back with her in a few minutes." Then she asked, "Where did my mom and Dad go?"

"Your father decided that your mother needed to rest," Kol told her. "So he took her home."

"Good," Victoria smiled. "Mom's been with me ever since I started going into labor and it was hard this time. No wonder she was tired."

Before they had time to respond to this remark, Kai entered the room, holding a squirming bundle in his arms. "Well, isn't this good timing?" He remarked when he saw Kol and Margot. "Now you can see her."

The baby was small, and had a spray of dark hair. As Kai put her in Victoria's arms, her eyes opened and she sneezed.

"Have you picked a name for her yet?" Margot questioned.

"We're still talking about that," Victoria replied. "One of the options was Lydia, and we can't come up with anything we like more."

"So it _will_ be Lydia then?" Kai asked. "Lydia Regina Parker?"

"If that's all right with you," Victoria nodded. "I like it."

"I do too," Kai grinned and then held the bundle out to Margot. "Wanna hold her?"

"Sure," Margot nodded and took her new granddaughter in her arms as Kol looked on. "That's what we're here for. I'm so happy for the two of you."

"And you take good care of this one," Kol told Kai firmly. "Don't let her spend too much time around anyone weird. She has a family reputation to keep up."

"Considering how we all are, I wonder what your definition of 'weird' is," Kai replied.

"Okay, if we can't be friends, we're just gonna have to stop talking," Victoria said, sensing a fight beginning to brew. "I just spent several hours in labor and I don't want to hear anyone snapping at each other. Just happiness and niceness and people getting along!"

"They know that," Margot assured her as she gave both Kai and her husband a look. "They're done snapping at each other now."

But because she couldn't be positive about that, she and Kol only stayed a little while longer before congratulating the new parents on their baby one last time, promising to return soon, and then heading home.

* * *

With Elijah lacking powers, he and Selina were beginning to drift apart and she had to find other ways to spend her time. She finally decided to lavish the attention she couldn't give to Elijah on Sam. As she, Sam, and Leslie ate dinner one night, Sam clinked his glass a little bit, so Selina put her wine down and waited to see what he had to say.

"Mom, I know you've been a bit down in the dumps lately, so I thought I would tell you something that might cheer you up."

"Really?" Selina questioned. "What is it?"

"Well…Leslie and I are thinking of having a baby," Sam replied with a smile.

"What? I never agreed to that!" Leslie shook her head.

"Still?" Sam asked. "But think about how long you've had to decide. Why is it still a problem? Afraid to ruin your figure?"

"Even if that was the reason, you shouldn't tease me about it," Leslie replied. "If you were the one that would have to carry the baby and you wanted it, I would be all for it, but since that's my job, you have to wait until I say it's all right."

"Which you never will!" Sam cried impatiently.

"Maybe not," Leslie shot back.

They started to bicker until Selina shouted, "Can everyone stop arguing? I get enough of that at home these days! I had no idea this was a sore subject and I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It's okay, Mom," Sam glared at Leslie. "You're not the problem. _She_ is."

Leslie's eyes narrowed and she rose gracefully from her chair. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go eat in my room. It might be better that way." She grabbed what she had left of her dinner and strode off as Sam swore under his breath and apologized to his mother.

"Sorry. We've been fighting about having kids for a while now," he explained. "I want them but for some reason that I _cannot_ understand, she won't compromise with me."

"Just give her time," Selina urged. "If you don't keep pushing it and pushing it, she might warm up to it."

"Well, I hope so!" Sam exclaimed. "But enough of _my_ problems. Things any better between you and Elijah? Or is he still keeping you at a distance?"

"The latter," Selina huffed. "And it's over something that wasn't even my fault! He's just a bad sport and a big baby when he's not the most powerful one in the house." She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"What happened to start all this?" Sam questioned. "Just general discontent on Elijah's part?"

Selina nodded. "That's what it started out as. He would just lock himself in his office or hide out in the spare bedroom. That was merely annoying, but then the thing that _really_ pushed him over the edge happened. I could say that it wasn't my fault, but I guess that would be lying…"

 _A few days after the dinner party, Elijah was still in a bad mood about not getting his powers back while Selina did. He refused to sleep with her and would often take meals in his office so he didn't have to talk to her either. She put up with this for a little while before she finally decided she'd had enough._

" _Okay, that's it!" She cried as she strode into his office without knocking. "You're acting like a big baby, and I hate it, and it's time for it to stop!"_

" _Get out of my office," Elijah commanded._

" _What if I don't want to?" Selina asked, leaning over his desk so that they were nose to nose. "What if I want to stay right here?"_

 _This led to a loud and furious exchange of words that went on until Selina became so frustrated that she locked eyes with Elijah and screamed, "Shut up! Be quiet! Don't say another word!"_

 _Then Elijah's eyes widened and he grabbed his throat and fell back into his chair. He tried to speak, but he couldn't._

" _Okay, what's going on?" Selina asked, snapped out of her anger for a moment to show concern for her husband. Then she stepped back as it hit her. She'd compelled him! For once, she had been able to compel an Original! A grin slowly curved her lips as she came back to the desk. "Elijah," she demanded in a sweet voice, "Do the hokey-pokey for me, would you?" And then she burst into laughter as he did just that. She then made a video of it on her phone and drove over to Anna's to show it to her._

" _What are you so happy about?" Anna asked as she allowed her friend into her house. "Are you and Elijah finally getting along again?"_

" _No, but look at this!" Selina insisted, her voice full of glee._

 _Anna took the camera and chuckled as she watched Elijah do his hokey-pokey. "How in the hell did you get him to do that?" She wondered when she was finally able to look away from the hilarious image._

" _Well, quite by accident, I realized that I can compel him," Selina explained. "It's something I intend to use responsibly, of course, but after the way he's been treating me, I couldn't resist the urge to mess with him a little."_

" _Oh, that's brilliant!" Anna remarked and gave her a hug. "This is one of those times where I am really and truly proud to call you my friend." Then she gasped. "Now that Elijah doesn't have you on a leash any more, are we gonna take another trip to the dark side? Please say 'Yes'!"_

" _Well, I don't know," Selina hesitated. All that hard work at being good down the drain? Did she really want to do that? But then again, the person that she was good_ for _had no interest in her. She wasn't being rewarded for good behavior, so why do it? Why not have fun instead? Or, at the very least, scratch all her itches that needed scratching._

" _Come on," Anna whispered in her ear. "You know you want to."_

 _It was like listening to the devil on her shoulder. The angel on the other shoulder made a few half-hearted pleas not to backpedal but they quickly faded away as Selina smiled. "All right, why not?" She nodded. "Where can we go? Are there any places around here like we went to in the twenties?"_

" _Oh, yes," Anna nodded. "There's this one place I go to that you might like. It's full of handsome, rich guys. Some of them have reputations of being quite shady, but that doesn't bother you, does it?"_

" _No," Selina shook her head. "I just wanna have sex."_

" _Well, then let's go!" Anna exclaimed. "If that's what you want, no use sitting around here."_

" _No kidding!" Selina agreed. "But first, let's just stop off at my house so I can take the compulsion off of your brother."_

"So Elijah is mad at you because you compelled him to do ridiculous things?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Yep," Selina nodded. "And because I went to that club with Anna. I'll probably go again, as long as Elijah keeps being stubborn. I know it makes him mad, but I don't think it's fair that I should have to wait around to have sex until he's ready, do you?"

"No, no I don't!" Sam shook his head. "And likewise, do you think I shouldn't have to wait around to have a kid until Leslie agrees to it?"

"I know it's annoying to have to wait for that," Selina told him as she put a hand on his arm. "But like she said, since she's the one giving birth, you should make sure she's on board with the decision. If you're feeling paternal, I'm sure there are kids around that you can practice with. Cause parenting is harder than it looks. I was somewhat terrified when you were a baby and I found out that your father ran off with you cause as far as I knew, he had no idea about parenting. But you turned out all right."

"Okay," Sam sighed. "I'll see what I can do about that babysitting thing you're talking about. Who knows? It could be good."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "Not only for your future as a father, but for your relationship with Leslie overall. Now, don't you think you should go apologize to her?"

"But what do I have to apologize for?" Sam questioned. "What did I do wrong?"

"Just apologize," Selina told him firmly. "It doesn't matter if you don't think you did anything wrong. You'll thank yourself for it later."

"Oh, all right," Sam got up. "I'll go apologize to her."

"Good," Selina told her. "Good luck, Sam."

"Thanks," Sam replied. "Not that I'll need it. _"_

* * *

After she'd felt that Eric had suffered enough for what he put her through on their wedding day, Sophia finally decided to give him a break and join him in their bed. But first, she eased him into the idea. When he woke up on the morning of the night she would join him, he found a square of white fabric on the pillow beside him with the words "I surrender" written on it in bold black ink. Then, a knock on the door.

"Come in," he said as he studied the fabric, wondering if it was a trick. But no. In came Sophia, plumping up the pillows and giving him a smile. "You think this mattress is gonna support us?" She questioned, sitting on it and giving it a good, hard bounce. "Cause we need a good, firm mattress, you know. Don't you agree?"

"Yeah, sure," he nodded. Then he looked up at her in shock. "Wait, what did you say?"

Sophia smiled, grabbed him, and kissed him. "Honey," she said, "I'm home! You may kiss the bride!"

Eric kissed her back without protest, but then cried, "Okay, what's going on? Are you serious, or is this some sort of trick? Because if this is a trick, I might have to worry about never being able to father children!"

"I'm sorry for beating you up, but I had to teach you a lesson," Sophia told him. "You can't just boss me around and expect me to be happy to be in a relationship with you. Things between us are _not_ gonna work that way."

"So what are you telling me?" Eric yelled. "That even though you're my wife now, you want to leave and go home to your mother?"

"No," Sophia grinned. "Quite the opposite, in fact. I wanna stay here with you. I wanna _be_ with you. Can we just do that and not talk about, you know, your plan and everything? For a little while?"

He was about to be mad again, but then her bottom lip jutted out in a cute little way and he couldn't help but laugh as he kissed her again and held her against his body. "Oh, all right," he said as if the choice was something that really made him suffer, even though it didn't. "I suppose that for a few days I can put my plans aside and just enjoy you."

Sophia chuckled. "Oh, I'm gonna make you need more than just a few days, buddy," she remarked. "Trust me."

Eric raised an eyebrow. "I'll be eager to see you prove that, but first, let me go send the staff away. We can't have them interrupting us."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Sophia said, putting a hand on his bare chest. "I let them off for a week with pay. I hope that's all right with you, since I didn't consult with you first."

Eric shrugged and then began playing with her hair and kissing her neck. "That's all right," he remarked. "It's your house too, and what I'd have done." He then picked her up, her legs wrapped around his waist, and made his way to the door.

"What are you doing?" Sophia questioned and clung tighter. "I thought you said we were gonna have sex!"

"We are, but since we're alone in the house, we could probably do it somewhere more interesting than the bed, can't we?" Eric pointed out.

"Good point!" Sophia grinned, "Where would you suggest?"

"Let me show you," Eric replied and zapped them both out to the yard behind the house. There was a large fountain there with a sculpture in the middle of two dolphins that sprayed water downward from their mouths. "Isn't it lovely?" He asked.

"Yeah," Sophia nodded. "Just great. But why are we looking at it?"

"Oh, we aren't _just_ looking," Eric grinned and then tossed her into the water, which was warmer than she expected. She hit it with a splash and then splashed him as she surfaced.

"What did you do that for?" She asked and pushed him back.

When he reappeared, he grabbed her and kissed her. "I wondered what would happen if I threw a pretty girl in the fountain and made a wish."

"Well, what did you wish for?" She asked, running her hands over his abs.

"I can't tell you or it won't come true," he winked.

"Oh, I think it will," she informed him as she began touching him.

His breathing picked up and he closed his eyes, backing up against the fountain wall. Considering what had happened the last time she'd come near what was between his legs, he should have been more nervous, but he felt too good to be worried. "That's good," he assured her. "Keep doing that." After he climaxed, he fell to his knees in the water, grabbed Sophia, and kissed her soundly: her lips, her earlobes, her neck, her nipples. Then, as his fingers threaded through her wet hair, he buried himself deep inside her over and over and nibbled on her earlobe as she moaned and said, "You know, I didn't make a wish myself, but if I had, you'd be granting it right now."

"Good," Eric whispered and blew in her ear as he slowly pulled out of her. "Good."

They then just sat in each other's arms in the fountain. "Are we taking a break before the next round?" Sophia questioned.

"Yeah," Eric nodded and let out a breath and gently massaged her lower back in a circular motion. "Where do you want to go next? The bath?"

"Maybe we should," Sophia agreed. "Who knows what's in this water?"


	31. A Date With A Demon

After Teddy was sure that Eric would not be coming back with Sophia, he made a phone call.

"Teddy?" Said a stern voice on the other end of the line. "Did you do what I asked you to? Have you made my son sufficiently rattled so that he did what he was supposed to do?"

"Yes," Teddy said firmly. "He has the girl now and he took her to the hideout."

"Good, I can rest now," the voice replied. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, sir," Teddy told him. "When do we meet so that I can get paid?"

"All in good time," the voice assured him, then momentarily pulled the phone away from his ear. Blue ones were always so pushy. No wonder no one wanted anything to do with them.

"Oh, and sir?" Teddy's voice came back on the line again.

"What?" His employer snapped.

"If I need to call you again, who should I ask for since a secretary will be taking your calls?"

"Ask for…Dorian Gray," the man replied. "Goodbye, Teddy." He ended the call without waiting for Teddy to respond, then collapsed into a high back brown leather chair. That was one thing off his mind, at least. Not that he entirely trusted his son. The boy hadn't always been willing to do as he was asked. But if he didn't trust Eric now, he'd lose his mind. He rested his eyes for a little bit, then he noticed the time on the clock. He needed to go out. He'd promised a friend that he would pay a visit to a nearby bar because there was someone she wanted him to meet, but frustration about the Eric situation had made him miss the first appointment. He got out of the chair, headed to the bathroom, showered, dressed, and then drove to the bar to see what sort of woman he would lead on the dance floor (and possibly in his bed) that night.

* * *

"Are you sure he's gonna be here this time?" Selina asked Anna as they took a seat at the bar again. "He wasn't last night." She began looking around and pointed at a man in a gray jacket and pinstripe pants. He had dark eyes and an air of danger about him. "Oh, what about him?" she exclaimed. "He looks hot!"

"No, that's not him!" Anna remonstrated. "And what do you mean 'He looks hot'? Do I have to remind you you're married? I just brought you here to get you out of the house and away from my cranky brother."

"Don't worry, I remember I'm married," Selina assured her. Then her voice became an angry whisper. "But my wandering eye is not my fault! I mean, do you know how long it's been since I've had sex? I'm running out of patience!"

"Oh, there he is!" Anna replied and gave a whistle as another dark haired man dressed all in black strode through the door and made his way to the bar. "Come here, Dorian!"

"Anna!" He said and gave Anna a brief hug. "I'm so glad you called me to this place. It's been a while since I've had a nice night out. Worries about my son, you know. But now he seems to have gotten his life together so I can start enjoying mine." He turned his gaze on Selina and smiled. "Now, who's your pretty friend?"

"Selina!" She burst out and shook his hand vigorously, giving an awkward laugh.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Selina," he told her. "How is it that you and Anna know each other?

"She's my sister-" Anna began, but Selina cut her off. "Her sister of a friend," She said quickly as Anna frowned. Elijah was being a jerk, but that was no reason for Selina to forget about him. "No other sort of sister."

"Nice ring," Dorian remarked as he took her hand. "Are you married?"

"Technically yes," Selina admitted. "But at the moment, if you saw my husband and me together, you wouldn't know it. He's mad about something that's not my fault, he's taking it out on me, and it hurts. If he really loved me, he wouldn't do that, right?" She eyed him and he shook his head.

"No, of course not," he told her. "But maybe he just needs to be able to appreciate you more."

"Yeah!" Selina nodded. "He needs to appreciate me more, that jerk!"

Music started and Dorian stood up, offering Selina his hand. "Can I have this dance?" He asked.

Selina held out her hand and Dorian was just about to take it, but then she pulled it back. "I-I don't know," she hesitated. "I'm not a very good dancer."

"Well, I can teach you," Dorian offered. "Could I just have one dance? Please?"

"Okay," Selina agreed. "One dance."

"Good," Dorian grinned and pulled her after him onto the dance floor.

The song they danced to was a fast one, so Selina was at ease, and even let herself enjoy it. But then, for some odd reason, a slower song came on. She let herself relax, but as she looked up into Dorian's eyes and felt his hands slide over her body, a familiar feeling welled up in her. A feeling of need. Of all-consuming passion. "You know, you look lovely tonight," he told her.

"Thank you," She replied. "This is the first time I've ever worn this dress, so I wasn't sure-"

"No, no, the black makes you look dark and dangerous." He grinned. "And we match. It's almost as if we knew we were going to meet tonight. As if it were fate." Then he whispered in her ear, "You're not at all what I expected."

"You were expecting something?" She asked. "What were you expecting?"

"Well, I feel darkness," he remarked. "But I don't see it. Do you know darkness, Miss Warren? You do, don't you?"

"We've flirted," Selina nodded. "But…but that's over with now." She had to keep telling herself that. Otherwise, she would just give in, fall to her knees, and hope he caught her. The thought scared the hell out of her. She wanted to go home and be safe in Elijah's arms. She quickly pulled away, her breathing picking up as she ran back to her bar stool, stole Anna's drink, and downed it.

"I'm sorry," Dorian apologized. "Have I done something to offend you?"

"Oh, no," Selina shook her head. "It's not your fault. I thought I was ready to do what we were doing before we did it, but then we did it and I realized that I wasn't ready at all. You understand, right?" She turned her attention to Anna before he had a chance to respond. "Can we go before I make an even _bigger_ fool of myself, please?" She asked.

"Sure," Anna replied. She gave Dorian an apologetic look and let Selina pull her out of the bar.

It was as she was running that she lost her scarf in the windy night. She thought about going back to get it, but then decided that it was only a scarf and being home to deal with the shame she felt was more important.

Dorian picked it up for her, putting the pink silk to his nose and inhaling the scent before wadding it up in his fist and carrying it with him. He would have to give it back to her. Another excuse to see her again. Wonderful.

* * *

"Thank you so much for the call, Amy," Elijah told his sister-in-law that same evening as she let him into her and Klaus' house. "This'll give me something to do more productive than what I planned."

"And what was it you planned?" Amy wanted to know.

"Well, Selina is out with Anna, and Niklaus has probably told you enough stories of what happens when those two are together that you can understand my nervousness." He pulled a surprised Amy into a hug. "What if she meets someone there? Without my powers, I could be less appealing to her than I used to be. And with that wandering eye of hers…thank goodness Niklaus has begun gorging himself. I might still have a chance!" He gave Amy a hopeful look.

She sighed. "It might be positive for you, but for me, not so much. I don't know what to do about him anymore. I tried to get him to diet, but now he just sneaks off to Margot's and eats junk food with Kol. I don't want to give up on him, cause it's not in my nature, but…I just don't know how to get through to him."

"It's all right," Elijah promised and took her in his arms again. "We'll find a way together."

"Thank you," Amy smiled. "I've tried and I've tried but I really don't think I can do this alone."

* * *

When Selina arrived home, she let herself in with her key, threw her shoes in the closet by the door cause she didn't feel like carrying them upstairs, and then called out for Elijah. "Honey, I know you're mad at me, but we need to talk! We can't just keep being mad at each other like this. I'm sorry I compelled you, but I didn't mean to. It was an accident, and I promise I won't do it again!"

But she was met with silence. She growled and headed straight for his office, bursting in without knocking and finding nothing but a note on his desk.

 _I bet you probably won't come home to read this note, but if you do, know I've gone to Klaus' to help Amy with him. I don't know when I'll be home, but I trust you can get yourself to bed without me._

 _Elijah_

Selina sighed and sank down in his desk chair. Well, there went any chance of feeling less guilty. She got into Elijah's liquor cabinet and had had a few drinks when the doorbell rang. Curious, she left the office and toddled to the front door, opening it and gasping when she saw Dorian on the doorstep.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. "How did you find my house?"

"I thought the usual response when one person came to visit another person was 'Hello, come in'," Dorian grinned.

Selina tried to keep herself upright, but that smile made her legs into jelly. "Sorry," she got out. "Come in. What can I do for you?"

"You lost your scarf back at the bar," he said and pulled it out of his pocket. "I thought I would return it to you."

"Thanks, but you didn't have to," Selina told him, stepping away from him as he stepped toward her. "It was just a scarf. I could have gotten another one." When she'd backed into a wall, he was finally able to get close to her. He moved her hair off her neck, put the scarf around it, and then took her in his arms.

"I want you, you know," he whispered in her ear. "And I can tell that you want me too, even though you're trying to hide it."

"I…I…" she felt herself lean closer and closer to him, their bottom lips touching before she finally pulled away. "No!" She cried. "I can't! I've already screwed up enough and I'm not putting myself through any more. You need to go." She began pushing him toward the door.

"All right, all right," he told her. "I see you're not ready to face your feelings." He handed her a business card. "But when you are, be sure to give me a call at the number on the back. Ask for Dorian Gray. I'll be waiting for you, Miss Warren."

He left then.

Selina scoffed as she looked at the card in her hand. She started to rip it up, then changed her mind and stuck it in her pocket. Best not get rid of it. Who knew? She might need it for a rainy day.


	32. The Fork In The Road

"How was your night?" Selina asked Elijah cautiously the next day. "How did things go with you and Amy? Is Klaus any better?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "He's too stubborn. Even when it's for his own good, he won't change."

"Well, I'm sorry," Selina apologized. "Maybe I should go and see her."

"I think that might do her a world of good," Elijah remarked. "But it might be better to have her over here."

"Ah," Selina nodded. "Okay." She was about to go when she paused and went back into the office. "Thanks for leaving me that note last night."

"You're welcome," Elijah nodded. "I'm surprised you were home early enough to see it."

There was a silence and then she said, "You think…you think we can try and be back where we were?"

"I don't know," Elijah sighed. "Maybe not." Then he said, "I'm sorry. I know that this is somewhat my fault because…because you're right. I _am_ having trouble dealing with the fact that you are now more powerful than I am. I know it's not open-minded or forward-thinking, or whatever, but…it's how it is."

"I thought as much," Selina nodded. "If it makes you feel any better, I kind of find it hard to be in a relationship with a man that I'm more powerful than too. I know it might surprise you, but I really don't like being on top the majority of the time."

"Yes," Elijah turned and gave her a small smile. "That _does_ surprise me."

"So…what do we do now?" Selina asked. "Start divorce proceedings? Try and give it another shot? I've had enough marriages break up that I know the drill, so whatever you decide is all right with me."

Elijah sighed. "I just…I don't quite know what to do. We need to make a plan first if we're going to separate."

"Yeah," Selina sighed. "I should probably find myself another place to live since this was your house first."

"Yes, I suppose you should, in time," Elijah agreed. "But as I say, we can live peaceably until we get this figured out."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "You keep the bed and I'll take the spare bedroom." She paused. "Can I try something real quick?"

"What?" Elijah asked.

"Let's…let's see where the old spark is," Selina told him. "It could still be there, you don't know."

So they started with a kiss, but it was a disaster and convinced them not to go any further.

"How could this happen?" Selina asked, genuinely dumbfounded. "How could we go from being hot for each other enough for ten kids and then nothing just seemingly overnight?"

"I don't know," Elijah replied. "I'm as puzzled by it as you are. Honest."

* * *

Anna got back to her house with a few bags of groceries and was surprised to find that the door was shut but unlocked. Concerned, she stepped inside and called out, "Whoever is here, I am going to kill you."

"Please do," called a voice. "I don't know what to do with myself anymore."

Anna strode to the living room and found Selina on the sofa with tears in her eyes and two empty containers of ice cream beside her.

"All right, what happened?" She asked. "What's so bad that you came to my house and ate all my ice cream?"

"I think Elijah and I might be done for good," Selina remarked. "I offered to try and fix things up between us but he says he doesn't know if it'll work. We kissed and for the first time ever, I felt _nothing_. What does that mean? Should I move on?"

"Maybe," Anna nodded. "You could come back to the bar with me and-"

"No!" Selina cut her off. "I don't think I need to go there."

"Why not?" Anna questioned. "Did Dorian give you his number? Are you going to give him a call?"

"Do you think I should?" Selina wanted to know as she fiddled nervously with her wedding ring.

"Yes, I think you should," Anna told her. As far as she knew, he was handsome, wealthy, a bit dark…everything Selina wanted in a man. If the idea of her and Elijah separating was true, she'd probably want a new bedmate.

"Oh, this is nuts!" Selina cried. "What am I doing? I know that moving on is the right thing. I do! But…I also feel like I'm throwing away years of my life that I've worked so hard for and exchanging it for something that might not even work out. And what about the kids?" She gasped. "What if they hate me when they find out what happened between me and their father? I guess I'm not worried about most of them, but Gregory and Anna…they're gonna react badly and it'll just break my heart!" She then leaned close to her friend. "You and I are close. What do you say we go out and have a drink?"

Anna's face twisted and she gave her a shake. "You're an adorable woman, you know that. And I'm pretty sure we did some of that in the twenties when we were both hammered, but…it just stuns me that you're so attached to my crazy family that you'll be with _anyone_. I won't be next on the list." She paused. "Wait a minute. Is this about my father? Do you not want to see the ecstatic look you know he'll wear when he finds out that you and Elijah are separating?"

"That's part of it," Selina admitted. "But also…as nutty as your family is, you're the first people I've really felt I've belonged to. At least one of you has been my support system at any given time. If I leave…then that's the end. I just know that I'll never be able to come back with you again. I guess that's why I'm clinging to whatever I can."

Anna sighed, took Selina in her arms, and played with her hair. "It's gonna be okay, you know. I don't think it'll be a clean break. Always and forever, you know? Once you're in, we don't just push you out. You mean a lot to many of us."

"I do?" Selina asked.

"Yeah," Anna assured her. "You do. And now that you know that, you can work on making plans for the future instead of just clinging to the past. Go call Dorian. You won't regret it."

"All right," Selina nodded, feeling a bit uncertain. She got up and went into the kitchen, pulled Dorian's number out of the pocket of her pants, and dialed. "Hello?" Said a woman's voice. It was the concierge of the building where he'd taken an apartment.

"May I speak to Mr. Dorian Gray, please?" Selina asked. "And is that really his name, or did he just make that up?"

The woman didn't respond to that remark, but promised her in a formal tone that she would be connected. Soon, the phone rang and when Dorian's voice sounded in her ear, she got out a 'Hello', then her knees practically buckled underneath her and she barely had time to make it to a chair.

"Are you all right, Miss Warren?" He asked. "What can I do for you?"

"I think you know the answer to that, don't you?" She asked. "Why else would I call?"

"Oh, yes, I'm very aware," Dorian assured her, his voice as smooth as silk. He knew what he was doing to her. "But I want to hear it come from those lovely lips of yours. Why are you calling me?"

"I-I want to see you," she got out. "Please. The offer still stands, right? And…would you just talk to me? I like the sound of your voice."

"Of course," Dorian assured her. "Of course the offer still stands. I'd not end it before I saw your beautiful face."

She shut her eyes and listened to him talk. Then she asked, "What are you wearing?"

Dorian chuckled. "Gray pants and a black shirt," he told her. "But just say the word and I could be wearing _a lot_ less." He grinned at the sharp intake of breath that he heard from her end. It was so easy to make her squirm, and he enjoyed it. "What are _you_ wearing?"

"A denim skirt and a red blouse," she told him. "The top is low-cut and the skirt is small and tight."

"Is that so?" Dorian asked. "It sounds like my kind of outfit."

"I don't think it would fit you," Selina told him, then put a hand over her mouth. That was a stupid thing to say. He probably thought she was an idiot.

But to her surprise, she heard robust laughter on the other end of the line. "'I don't think it would fit you'" came Dorian's voice. "That's a good one. You're not busy right now, are you?"

"No," Selina assured him. "I have no other commitments."

"Good," Dorian told her. "Then you can be committed to me. I'm going to send my driver to fetch you and we can have a talk. Are you with Anna?"

"How did you know that?" Selina asked in amazement.

"I saw her number on my phone when you called," He told her.

"Oh, right," Selina nodded. "Exactly. I'm at Anna's."

"All right, good," Dorian replied. "Give my driver twenty minutes and he'll be at her doorstep."

He hung up then and Selina ran back to the living room. "He wants to see me," she informed Anna. "A driver is coming for me in twenty minutes."

"Well, isn't that nice?" Anna grinned. "Good for you! Go for it with gusto and don't hold back."

"I'll try not to," Selina promised. "Can I ask how you and Dorian know each other? You were never with him, were you?"

"No, I just saw him around a lot and we got to chatting," Anna told her. "He's an interesting man. I really think that if you and he were together, for once you'd have someone who would let you be more well-rounded than my brothers ever did."

"What?" Selina asked.

"Well, think about it," Anna pressed. "Elijah liked your nice side but was scared of your dark side. Klaus liked your dark side, but thought you were boring when you're good. Don't you deserve someone that'll let you be everything without criticizing you for it?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "I never thought of it that way, but yes I do!" She then went to change from her red tennis shoes to a pair of Anna's high heels because there was _no way_ Dorian would be impressed with her in tennis shoes.

* * *

"Are you going to be all right?" Asked Dorian's driver as he led a nervous Selina to Dorian's door. "Would you like me to take you inside, Miss?"

"No, thank you," Selina told him. "I can handle it."

The driver was skeptical, but working for Dorian had taught him not to ask questions and just take people at their word. He left Selina alone by the door and she rang the bell and waited.

"Miss Warren?" Dorian called from the other side of the closed door. "Is that you?"

"Yes," Selina answered, curious as to why he would want to confirm her identity before he let her in. Maybe he had truckloads of enemies and was used to people trying to shoot him whenever he opened the door. Maybe he was like, an international spy or something. Wouldn't that be _thrilling_?

Then, he opened the door and when she saw him, her knees finally gave out and she face planted in the entryway of his apartment, right at his feet. It wasn't her fault though. He was wearing nothing but a pair of black pants and holding two glasses of champagne.

He grinned down at her as she lay at his feet, put the champagne glasses on a nearby table, and helped her up. "Are you all right?" He grinned.

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I fainted because I haven't eaten today. And I'm wearing new shoes, so they're hard to stand in."

"Wow," Dorian remarked. "A new dress one time we meet, and new shoes the next. I'm touched."

"Yeah, well…good." She paused as she looked into his eyes, the chills running down her spine again. "You know what?" She turned and grabbed the doorknob. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I-" But he grabbed her, picked her up, set her in a chair, and then removed the heels, throwing them nearby.

Afterward, he gently massaged her feet, then pulled her to stand and put his arms around her and kissed her neck.

"Oh, this is very good," she told him. "I like it. You have skills, Mister. In fact, if I could do it easily, did you know that I'd pull off my panties, ball them up, and hand them to you right now?"

His lips moved from her neck to her ear. "Why don't you let me do that?" He whispered.

"Okay," she whispered back.

He picked her up and braced her against the front door before reaching under her skirt and slipping off her panties, kissing her neck and the parts of her chest exposed by her low cut top as he gave her a good rub. "You seemed so tense before," he told her as they moved up and down in unison and she tried not to moan too much. "Is this helping?"

"Oh, fuck yes, it's helping," Selina assured him. Then, as she felt herself climax, she grabbed him around the neck, and kissed him hard as he made a valiant effort to keep himself calm. It wasn't his turn yet, he reminded himself. It would be soon, but not now.

Afterward, he tried to hand her her panties back, but she refused in case they felt the urge to do that again. Then he handed her one of the glasses of champagne. "I could use a drink," He remarked with a wink. "Could you?"

"Oh, yes," Selina nodded and took some deep breaths as she put the glass to her lips. "I certainly could."

* * *

"I want food!" Klaus cried as he came into the kitchen, beer bottle in hand. He'd taken to having a lot of liquid meals lately in addition to the food he was eating.

"You know what, fine!" Amy told him, opening the refrigerator and sending a bunch of food flying in his direction. "I've had it. I've tried to help you, but I'm done. You can do what you damn well please even if it kills you."

"Thank you," Klaus told her. "Took you long enough to realize that."

"However, the exchange is that you gain food but you lose me," Amy added the caveat. "I'm not gonna sit around and watch you ruin your life."

"Where will you go?" Klaus asked, coming toward her. He reached out to grab her, his breath reeking of alcohol, but since she had magic and he didn't, she held him off easily. Then, he grunted and threw the bottle. It hit just above her head. Then he grabbed anything he could get his hands on: plates, bowls, cups, and threw them too.

"Oh, my god!" Amy cried. He'd completely become unhinged! But this was the last time. She zapped herself from the house, intending never to come back and wondering if Elijah would be willing to take her in instead.

She got in her car and drove it a distance away, parked, and dialed Elijah's number. "Hello?" She said. "Elijah, I need your help!"

"More troubles with Niklaus?" Elijah guessed. "What's he done now?"

"He's been drinking," Amy explained. "And he was throwing bottles and plates and cups and things. It was because I told him that I've had enough of his behavior. I moved out, Elijah. Can I…can I come stay with you until I figure out what I'm going to do next? Would that be too much of an inconvenience? I don't want to get in you and Selina's way."

"Oh, I don't think that's a problem," Elijah assured her, the tone of his voice smooth like silk to her ears. "Selina and I have begun to move apart too. I could use a friend."

"I'm sorry," Amy told him. "I'll be there soon."

"Thank you," Elijah told her. "I'm grateful for the company."

"Yes," Amy agreed. "Me too." She hung up and began driving in the direction of his house, wondering all along why in the hell she'd been able to use her powers when she didn't have them before cause she was a vampire. She then thought…when John gave her her powers back, did it mean _all_ her powers? Even though, as a vampire, her magic was incompatible with the rest of it? Interesting.

When she reached the house, she didn't have to knock. Elijah opened the door and pulled her inside.

"I'm so glad to see that you're in one piece!" He exclaimed, picking her up and twirling her around. "I had all these horrible visions in my head of my brother hurting you again."

"He didn't get the chance this time, thank goodness," Amy assured him. "Now, are you absolutely _positive_ it's okay for me to stay here? Cause I could always call one of my daughters. I'm sure they wouldn't mind taking me in."

"No, I promise you, it's fine. I have lots of room to spare," Elijah assured her. "You basically have the run of the place." He paused. "Did you bring a suitcase?"

"No, I left so fast, I didn't even think of that," Amy realized.

"It's okay," Elijah assured her. "You can find a way around that."

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Amy assured him before going off to find a room for herself. "I'll zap up some things. It'll be just fine. And thanks again…for everything."

"You're welcome," Elijah smiled. "If I can do anything more, just let me know."

"All right," Amy assured him. I will. And…I'm really sorry to hear about you and Selina."

"Me too," Elijah told her. "But sometimes, people just grow apart. I don't need to tell you that, though."

"No," Amy sighed as she thought of Klaus. "Unfortunately, you don't."


	33. Sing A New Song

"Are you okay?" Roxie asked as her mother stomped across the bar and sat down hard on a bar stool after piling bags beside it. "What happened? Want a drink?"

"No," Selina shook her head, her voice sounding haunted as she gave her daughter a vacant stare. "I've learned that that's not the way to handle my problems." She stared at a ring in the wood of the bar for a few seconds and then looked up at Roxie. "Can I have a room, please?"

"Why?" Roxie asked. "What are all the bags for?" Her eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me Uncle Elijah's giving you crap. Did the two of you have a fight? I'd like to wring his neck!"

"No, don't," Selina's voice was tired. "I had to know it would come to this. I'm just amazed it lasted as long as it did between us." She sighed and took a breath as Roxie grabbed a key to a room and led her upstairs.

When they got in her room, she collapsed on the bed and looked at the opposite wall without blinking. Figuring her mother would need more help than she could provide since she had the bar to run, she went and got the next best thing.

"Okay, you're off dish duty," she told Sam. "Mom's upset. I think someone should go watch her."

"All right," Sam nodded and threw the towel by the sink. "No problem." He and Leslie went upstairs and found Selina in the same position she'd been in when Roxie had left.

"Mom?" He asked. "Are you okay?"

"Can you hear us, Ms. Warren?" Leslie added. "What happened? Wanna talk about it?"

"No," Selina clutched the pillow tighter. "I don't want to bore you with my problems." She turned to face away from them but Sam rolled her back.

"Please tell us," he urged. "Your problems aren't boring and besides, Roxie let me off dish duty to come and talk to you. If you don't say anything, I'll have to go back to scraping gunk off plates!" He lay down beside her so they were eye to eye. "And you wouldn't want to do that to me, would you?"

"Sam, don't do that," Leslie chided and tried to pull him up. "If she doesn't want to talk, you shouldn't make her. Let's go. We can lock ourselves in the break room for a bit."

"Oh, okay!" Sam brightened. "So you've changed your mind about making babies, then?"

"No, I just want to make out," Leslie replied.

"We broke up," Selina said as they made their way to the door of her room. "Elijah and I finally parted ways, and now it seems like everything that I've counted on to keep me steady is going away. I'm like a ship sailing without direction in a dark night."

"You know, that's really beautiful," Sam remarked as he sat beside her again. "Have you thought of writing poetry?"

Leslie gave him a look.

"What?" He asked, his blue eyes pained. "I'm trying to help, but I'm not good with all this emotional stuff!"

"I know you're trying," Selina hugged him after he came back to her bed. "And thank you. But I think…I think I just need to be alone now. Go and make out with your wife."

"Take care of yourself," Sam urged. "Please."

Selina nodded and then Sam left with Leslie and when they were some distance away, she spoke.

"Look at your poor mother," she remarked. "That is exactly why I don't want us to have kids. She and Elijah were pretty solid and they had all those kids and now they're gonna have to explain why they're not together anymore, and everyone's feelings will be hurt, and I don't want to put kids through that if it happens to us."

"Why are you so sure it will?" Sam crossed his arms. "I don't like what you're saying. In fact, I'm very offended by it. I don't have to listen to this. I'd rather be in the kitchen washing dishes!"

He started to stride away but Leslie grabbed his arm. "Wait a minute," she told him. "That came out wrong. I didn't mean it the way it sounded." She sighed. "I don't know how to talk about this in a way that won't make you get all offended and storm off."

"Well, when you think of a way to say 'I think you're a cheater and I don't want to have children with you' that's not offensive, let me know because I'd love to hear it," Sam huffed. He then went back to wash dishes, leaving Leslie alone in the hallway with her mouth hanging open, trying to say an apology Sam would probably never believe.

* * *

Once Selina moved into her room, she rarely came out. The only time Roxie ever saw her mother was when she brought her food. Selina didn't shower or get out of bed, and after a week or so of this, Roxie began to get concerned. She'd never seen her mother like this. She thought Selina's way of dealing with a break-up was to kill, but apparently not. She had to find a way to distract her. As her mother napped, she looked through her clothes and bags for ideas, finally finding Dorian's card in one of the pockets of Selina's purse, where it always was when she needed it. She had no idea about his connection to her mother, but saw the number and realized that he would be just the distraction Selina needed. But first, she had to meet him to make sure he wasn't a nut because her mother could run with some pretty crazy people when she put her mind to it.

* * *

A few days after she made the call, she came downstairs after checking on her mother and Vince said, "Some guy I've never seen before is looking for you." He pointed to Dorian, who was sitting at a table with the paper. "Should I be worried? What's going on?"

"Wow, he's handsome," Roxie remarked.

"What?!" Vince cried.

"Don't worry, he's for Mom," Roxie assured her husband. "Not me."

"I knew that," Vince tried to look unaffected. "You didn't have to tell me."

"Yes, I did, you adorable lug," she smiled and squeezed him. "You were _so_ jealous!"

"No, I was not," Vince disagreed. "Why don't you go and see what he wants?"

"Okay," Roxie nodded. "I will, Mr. Jealous!" She skipped away and when she reached Dorian's table, she sat down across from him. "Are you Dorian Gray?" She asked. "Do you know my mother?"

"I do," Dorian nodded. "And she seems like a wonderful woman. I'm so sorry to hear that she isn't doing well."

"I know," Roxie nodded. "It's cause she and my uncle broke up. I've never seen her act like this. I didn't think she could. It kind of freaks me out, to be honest."

It was then that Dorian took her hand and held her eyes. "Well, if it's all right with you, I'll see if I can do something to help that. I would be happy to." They watched each other for a long moment, then he kissed her hand and she smiled, getting up and running back to her husband.

"So what's the verdict?" Vince questioned. "Is he gonna be a problem?"

"I will confess that I felt something about him that was a bit odd, but I don't think there's anything to worry about," Roxie shrugged. "He's really the most handsome man other than you that I ever saw. This could be good for Mom."

"Would you have added the 'other than you' if I wasn't standing right here?" Vince questioned.

"Well, of course!" Roxie nodded. "Cause you're the most handsome man I know _and_ the sweetest. And the most patient, kind, forgiving…"

"All right, I'm convinced," Vince chuckled. "You can go take his order now."

Roxie did, and when she brought it to him, he asked her to sit down.

"How sweet of you," she remarked. "We don't get a lot of genteel guys around here, so you're kind of an anomaly. But a welcome one."

Dorian looked around at the men spitting peanut shells on the floor, drinking way too much, and then challenging each other to drunken games of darts while one man sung drunkenly into the microphone on the stage even though there was no music and nodded. "I understand that I might be an anomaly," he agreed. "That seems obvious. I feel like I'm one of the few people here who knows what manners are."

A werewolf with gray hair an unkempt beard at a nearby table heard his remarks and stumbled over. "You wanna say that again, pal? Where did you come from, anyway? You don't belong!" He slurred and swung a punch at Dorian's head, but Dorian ducked just in time so his hair was only slightly mussed. He smoothed it back into place and grabbed the man by the arm as Roxie tried to run interference. "No need," he told her. "Our friend here just needs to sit down with a cup of coffee and have a rest. He's clearly had too much to drink and it's messing with his judgement."

The man began to calm down almost immediately when he was normally one of the most belligerent men Roxie had ever met. This made her wonder what was going on with Dorian. Was he a vampire? If so, how did he still have his powers after what John had done? And if he wasn't a vampire, what the hell was he?

As Dorian turned back to face her, he gave her a smile and she smiled back even as she wondered about him. "I better go," he remarked. "I don't want to cause you any more trouble today. I'll come again when your mother is feeling more up to it."

"What a good idea," Roxie smiled and walked with him to the bar door. "It will be a wonderful surprise, I'm sure. See you later, Mr. Gray."

He smiled. "See you later, Ms. Talbot."

* * *

Finally, Roxie and Sam were able to get Selina to shower and come downstairs among people. Because she still didn't want to drink, Roxie gave her juice instead, and let her sit at the bar and people watch. On the day that Dorian said he would come, Roxie couldn't help but smile.

"What are you so happy about?" Selina asked.

"I'm happy that you're finally up and walking around," Roxie replied. "What else would I have to be happy about?"

Selina was still suspicious, but she let it go, drinking her juice and watching people come in and out until Dorian came in and she spit out her cranberry juice all over her shirt and began coughing and sputtering.

"I still have quite the effect on you, I see," he grinned as he strode up to her. "Mind if I sit down?"

"Sure," Selina nodded. "Go ahead."

Although he'd come for her mother, Roxie couldn't help but find him aesthetically pleasing. "Has anyone ever told you how good-looking you are?" She blurted out.

Selina narrowed her eyes at her daughter, stood up, and grabbed Dorian's hand. "What do you say we go somewhere more private?" She suggested in a firm voice.

"Yes," Dorian nodded and let her pull him into one of the bigger rooms that were used for the rare party or event like the super bowl because it had a bigger TV than the small one behind the bar. She shut the door behind them and then he helped her into a chair. "Hello," he told her.

"Hello," Selina returned. "It's nice to see you. Sorry I don't look so good. I've been having a rough few weeks."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that, but that's why I've come," Dorian informed her as he took her face in his hands. "Miss Warren, your daughter is very concerned about you. She found my number in your purse and thought I could come and cheer you up."

Selina bared her teeth, pushed Dorian away, and got up from her chair to pace around the room. "That Roxanne and her big mouth! What's going on with me is none of her damn business! I want to strangle her!"

She made violent strangling motions, which made Dorian smile. There it was. There was the darkness. Not at its highest levels, but visible.

Dorian let this go on for several seconds before he asked, "What's wrong with her calling me? You're not still hoping that your husband will come back to you, are you?"

"No," Selina twisted her ring again. "Of course not. We made a mutual decision to separate and I'm pretty sure that won't change. I'm gonna move on with my life cause that's all I can do."

"Good," Dorian nodded. "Is it possible that I could be part of your moving on? That I could help? Cause I would like to."

"And how would you do that?" Selina asked. "By babysitting me like Roxie asked you to? I don't need to be babysat! I am a grown woman and I can take care of myself. Thank you for coming to check on me, though. You can go tell my daughter that I'm fine and she doesn't have to worry about anything. And now that you've done this…this _chore,_ you can go on and do whatever more exciting or important things you do with your time. Go on, shoo!"

She made a dismissive motion with her hand and her eyes widened as Dorian rose to his feet and strode toward her, just as he had before, getting closer and closer until she was backed up against the wall and couldn't move anymore.

He put his hands on both her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Nothing is more important to me than you," he told her, his voice full of passion and intensity. "Did you hear me, Selina Warren? _Nothing."_

Selina gave a nervous chuckle. "Would you mind loosening your grip a little?" She questioned. "It's nice to hear that you're so committed cause I need to hear it after my latest disappointment with men…and don't get me wrong, you're very attractive. But I don't want to lead you on and make you think that there's something between us when I just don't think there can be. It's not a good idea. If we were to be in a relationship and marry, you'd be husband number five. I'm terrible at relationships and you deserve better than that while I resign myself to a lifetime of being alone. It's something I just need to face by now, all right?"

"Is that really how you see yourself?" Dorian asked and put one hand against her cheek as the other slid down her neck. "Because I think it's a gross characterization. I hate seeing you get yourself so down. Ordinarily, women like you are the sort I stay away from. If I have to work so hard, I get bored and move on, but you…you're _different_. For the first time in my life, I've decided to be patient. To wait around for the right woman." He paused to whisper in her ear. "And given the fact that I have _quite_ the sexual appetite, that's a big vow to make."

"Am I supposed to thank you for the honor?" Selina asked, swallowing as she tried to keep her voice and legs steady. She could never quite stand up around him, it seemed. "Cause if this is how you're starting out our relationship, I have a feeling it will end as badly as my others."

"No, you don't have to tell me anything now," he assured her, pulling her to him, one hand cupping her breast. "I see that you and I are in for some bumps along the road, but I have a feeling that if I let you go, it would be a big mistake. You're the one who can fulfill my appetites and desires more fully than anyone else, and I find that very thrilling. I've had many wives, you know. Many lovers. Many children. And none of them had everything I wanted. But you do. I know that." He squeezed her breast gently until a soft moan came out of her mouth before he spoke again. "So, here's the deal: I will give you…one month to get yourself together and realize that you can do better than this. You can. Do you realize that? One month, and if you don't accept me by then, you won't get this offer again. You won't see me again. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "I do."

He grabbed her and kissed her soundly, her lips, and then her neck, as he pulled her close, cupped her bottom, and squeezed. "Just to remind you what you'll miss out on if you dawdle too much," he told her. "I'll treat you better than any of the others," he promised.

She nodded and panted as he helped her stay on her feet. "Yeah, okay, good," she saluted. "I'll remember that. You have a good day, Dorian." She staggered out of the room and Dorian sat down trying to calm himself as being so near her, inhaling her scent and feeling her skin, had made him extremely aroused. What was he thinking, telling her he would wait a month? Was he _insane_?

He got up, shaking his head. Maybe. But it wasn't like he was waiting for nothing. She would come to him. Then he would get her into his bed and make the wait worth it. He smiled to himself and took a deep breath. Yes. After all that time, seeing her smile as he undressed her, brought her into his bed, and made love to her would make the wait completely worth it.


	34. Time To Mend Fences

"Oh, for god's sake!" Leslie huffed when she got home from the bar and heard from her sister Annie that Sam was gone. He and his father had gone on a camping trip.

"He wants to devote all this time to talking about us having children and then when I'm ready, what does he do?" Leslie huffed. "He runs away like a coward!"

"What are you gonna tell him?" Annie asked. "Is it still no? Is it news that you actually _want_ to talk? Cause if it's the first thing, he probably didn't think it was worth sticking around to hear something he'd already been told a thousand times."

"No, that's not true!" Leslie shook her head. "I'm actually gonna talk to him this time. Listen to what he has to say. And maybe state my views in a more…gentle way."

"Good luck with that," Annie smiled. "I have the name of the campground where he and Damon went. Wanna go?"

"Yes," Leslie nodded. She would have been nervous about going to a campground with Sam again, but she wasn't intending to stay for a long time. Just to make him a deal and then go. "But we have to pick something up along the way."

* * *

Sam groaned when he came out of the tent and saw Annie and Leslie approaching. "Damn," he told his father. "I wonder what I've done to get yelled at here."

But he noticed something as Leslie got closer and closer. She was carrying a chocolate lab puppy in her arms. "What are you doing with that?" He questioned. "Are you ready to talk like a civilized person and have brought me this puppy as an apology?"

"In a way," Leslie nodded, making Sam intrigued. They headed to Damon's car and sat inside to talk.

"All right," Leslie cleared her throat. "I came here with a proposal: _I_ know you want to have a kid. And _you_ know that I'm not ready to have a kid. And we _both_ know that we'll probably never get out of this frustrating rut we're in unless we come to some sort of compromise."

"So you finally want to have a kid?" Sam asked hopefully.

"We'll see," Leslie told him. "In the meantime, I thought having a puppy might be a good way to test ourselves and see how we'd be as parents. You can stretch out your daddy muscles and I can…I can get used to caring for something with you. Is that fair?"

"Yes," Sam smiled as the puppy squirmed out of Leslie's arms and into his lap, happily licking his face. "That's good for now. It's going in a good direction. Thank you for finding a way to compromise instead of just continuing to say 'No' even though that's probably what you'd like to do."

"I want us both to be happy," Leslie reached out and played with Sam's hair. "I don't like to fight. And I really hope this puppy idea of mine is going to help us be able to effectively make decisions about the future of our family."

"I think that'll do it," Sam nodded.

"So…what do you want to name him?" Leslie asked. "You can pick."

"I would like to call him Sam Jr. if that's all right with you," Sam told her.

"Yeah, that's fine," Leslie nodded. "We just have to come up with a nickname for one of you so we can tell the difference between when we're referring to you and when we're referring to the dog."

Sam kissed the dog's head. "I can be Sam and he can be Sammy," he suggested.

"All right," Leslie smiled, getting warm feelings in her stomach as she watched them. They were able to cuddle with their 'child' a few minutes more before Annie and Damon approached the car and asked if everything was all right.

"Did he accept the puppy?" Annie asked her sister. "Are you two good now?"

"Yeah, we are," Leslie assured her. "Thanks for asking."

Sam then looked at his father and said, "I have a puppy to take care of, so if you and Annie want to use the tent, go ahead."

"All right," Damon smiled. "Sounds good to me. Enjoy your new little friend."

* * *

When they got home, Leslie used her magic to make the house puppy ready, and Sam smiled when she came back and told him that it was done.

"You know, this'll be good for more than just me," he told her. "Having a puppy to play with might cheer Mom up too."

"Yes," Leslie nodded and scratched Sam Jr. behind the ears. "She could really use that, couldn't she?"

* * *

While Leslie had to go somewhere to get her man, Sarah opted to stay home and talk. After her first encounter, after all the effort she'd put in for his birthday, she had no intention of going to see Junior again until that redheaded pixie person was out of his life forever.

"Can you talk?" She asked after calling him one night. "Is this a bad time?"

"It's one in the morning," Junior told her sleepily. "Not that I'm not glad to hear your voice after what happened for my birthday. Thanks for coming all the way out."

"No trouble," Sarah tried not to sound too bitter. "That Faye seems…possessive. It's not healthy. Don't tell me she's in bed with you right now."

"No, she's across the hall," Junior assured her. "Faye wouldn't go to bed with anyone before she's married."

"Is that some sort of judgment about me?" Sarah barked.

"No, I'm just assuring you that we can talk in private," Junior replied. "Why do you snap at me about everything? Can't you stop?"

"Sorry," Sarah apologized. "I just…I really miss you and I…I was hoping that when I came for your birthday, we'd be able to be together. After everything that happened, that would have been nice. Don't you think so?"

"Yes," Junior nodded. "And I'll try and find some time to come visit you so we can actually do it. I promise."

" _Without_ the pixie?" Sarah prompted.

"Yes, Faye won't be anywhere near us, I promise," Junior nodded. "So…how are you? How are you doing about…everything?"

Sarah sighed. "Better, I suppose. It's not something that's easy to get over, though. Have you seen John lately? When you do, can you punch him in the nose for me?"

"Oh, of course!" Junior agreed. "I'd do it for myself too. It's not just for you, believe me."

"And what about you?" Sarah asked. "How's the doctor plan coming? I bet you're doing really well. You've always been smart."

"Thanks," Junior smiled to himself. "I'm doing all right. It gives me something to do with my time, anyway. That's _always_ a good thing." He paused. "Do you want me to keep writing you letters, or would you like me to stop?"

"No, _please_ keep writing me letters!" Sarah begged. "I like hearing about everything that's going on in your life, and I like your descriptions of the countryside and stuff. They make for good pictures in my head. Just don't…just be sure to leave some things out."

"I know which things and I promise they won't be there," Junior promised.

"Thank you," Sarah told him. "I know it makes me sound silly and jealous, but-"

"No, it's fine," Junior cut her off. "I see no reason why you would need to know all that in the first place. Will you start writing me too, now that you're feeling good enough to do stuff worth writing about?"

"Sure," Sarah promised. "If you want. It's good that we're doing this. Cause you probably don't want to be constantly woken up in the wee hours of the morning to talk."

"You can call me any time," Junior assured her. "It doesn't matter."

"Thank you, but it does!" Sarah replied. "You're studying to be a doctor! You need your sleep!"

"Oh, I suppose I do," Junior agreed. "But why sleep when talking to you is so much more interesting?" He tried to stifle a yawn but she heard it anyway.

"All right, I'm hanging up now so you can sleep. Goodnight, Sean. It was…it was nice talking to you."

"It was nice talking to you too," Junior remarked. "We should do this again."

"I agree," Sarah said. "But next time, it's gonna be when you're not sleeping." She told him good night one last time, ended the call, and then, smiling to herself, went to make a late dinner.

* * *

While Junior could focus on something as simple as a relationship, his brother Christian was under a lot more pressure, especially when he had to tell John about Sophia's kidnapping and ask for his help.

"Sophia was _kidnapped_?" John cried as he stared at his son and cradled his daughter, rocking her gently with Freya standing behind him. She sensed her husband was about to get mad, so she insisted on taking Ingrid away from him.

"Sophia was kidnapped? How the hell could you let that happen, Christian?" He repeated, rising to his feet. "I left you that note on the window at great cost to myself and you didn't pay any attention to it at all, did you? Cause if you had, the demons wouldn't have your daughter!"

"You know, before you start throwing stones here, let me remind you that the man who kidnapped her wouldn't even be in our lives if you hadn't made a deal with him to sell everyone out so you could have more glory for yourself! Take some responsibility for your part in this, would you?" Christian snapped.

"Calm down," Jill put a hand on his arm, feeling weird for being the calm one. "As you pointed out to me, yelling won't help anything."

"I only said that because _I_ wasn't the one doing the yelling," Christian replied. He pulled away from her and said to John, "You have to help us. Give us a hint about the demons. You owe us that much."

"Please," Jill added politely. "We would really appreciate it."

John sighed. "I suppose that since Sophia's already been taken, the most we can do is plan for her return," he admitted. He sat down and held out his arms for Ingrid, but Freya shook her head.

"I'm not mad anymore," He promised. "Let me have her, please. She'll keep me calm."

Freya didn't move though, until Ingrid began to scream and didn't stop until she was in John's arms again.

"It's nice to know that at least _someone_ in this house listens to me," he remarked.

"I will if you tell me a plan," Christian assured him. "What do you have for us?"

"Well, I know you probably don't want to hear this, but it…it might be best to have Sophia stay where she is," John said. "I mean, when you foolishly tried to get her the first time, did she seem to be in any actual danger?"

"Well, no, she was sleeping," Christian replied. "But that doesn't mean things are going well. A demon kidnapped her for god's sake!"

"If she's not actually being harmed, you can relax a bit," John said. "It means we have time to think of a plan that's good," John told him. "We need to let them do as they want for as long as we can afford to. If we interrupt them and make them angry, they could use us instead." He caught Christian's eye. "I know for you that's not an issue cause you're already host to a demon and so is Jill, but…think of the people in your family who aren't and what could happen to them."

"So you're not going to help us even though you got us into all this trouble," Christian nodded. "That's what I thought would happen."

"I would give your daughter some credit if I were you," John told him quietly. "She has some sort of hold over him. She could be taking him down from behind enemy lines. Don't mess it up for her. I honestly think the only way we'll get anywhere is to put trust in your daughter. I do. I'm surprised you don't."

"Well, it's hard to think of her as anything but a teeny little girl," Jill explained. "I mean, I know she isn't anymore, thanks to Eric, but still…"

Christian then locked eyes with Freya. "What do you think?" He asked her. "If you tell me that it would be not only all right but advisable to just let Sophia handle things with Eric on her own, I'll step back and try my best to trust her." He took a deep breath. "So…what do you say?"

Freya tried not to look at Jill when she said her answer because she knew that if she looked into Jill's worried eyes, she would change her answer. To distract herself, she went behind John and began massaging his shoulders so she would start biting her nails or twitch. "I think…I think you should just leave Sophia be," she said. "I think that would be best. I know it's hard to think about, but in the end, I think we'll all be glad you did."

"All right," Christian nodded and tried to remember that as he and Jill left the house and headed home.

* * *

While his son was more than happy to be left alone, Dorian wanted to make contact. He'd promised Selina a month to decide about him, but he decided that to help her toward the right choice, he'd grease the wheels a bit. Show her how giving and thoughtful and generous he could be.

And the first evidence came one morning after Selina had returned to the bar with her breakfast coffee and a blueberry muffin. She made her way into her room and that was when she noticed the gift on her bedside table: black roses that contrasted magnificently with the crystal vase they were sitting in.

"Roxie!" She called out to her daughter. "Where did these flowers come from?"

Roxie came in, holding a card. "I wanted to see your face when you got the note, which is why I kept it until you got back."

Selina opened the card and didn't know whether to be mad or flattered as she read the words in her mind.

 _Miss Warren,_

 _These are for you. Some roses as black as night. I've always found darkness beautiful, don't you? Probably not anymore. But you will, I promise. And if you like them, there are more where they came from. Every day of the month. You may refuse them. You may throw them away. I just want you to know that I'm thinking of you. You're in my thoughts every second. I won't tell you what you'll receive next. I want it to be a surprise._

 _Dorian_

"He's _awfully_ sure of himself, isn't he?" Roxie said. "What do you want me to do with the flowers? Throw them out along with all the other stuff he sends?"

Selina shook her head and flicked one of the fat petals of the dark flowers. "Sure, he's a rascal, especially considering that I'm not divorced yet, but it's not like I've never done this sort of thing before. It's a well-practiced thing for me that when breakups are imminent, the first thing I go out and do is get another guy waiting in the wings, right?"

"Yeah," Roxie nodded. "I guess so."

"And I don't have to feel bad about it this time since he's practically throwing himself at me," Selina continued. "So I'll just let him keep sending me stuff. What's the harm if it makes _him_ feel good to give and it makes _me_ feel good to receive?"

"But then wouldn't it be considered leading him on if you accept all this stuff and then turn him down at the end of the month?" Roxie questioned.

"That's just the thing," Selina remarked, taking one of the flowers out of the vase and sniffing it. "I don't know if I want to accept Mr. Gray…but I don't know if I want to turn him down, either."

"I knew it," Roxie nodded. "Looks like I'm gonna have a new stepdaddy in a few months."

"That's a bit premature," Selina remarked.

"I see the look on your face," Roxie told her. "And I've seen it before. It's not premature at all." She gave her mother a kiss, then left her alone on her bed, staring at her flowers and the note of challenge that came with them.


	35. Looking For A Little Safety

Selina couldn't help but stare at the flowers. Over and over again. Finally, she remembered her manners and called Dorian to thank him.

"Well, how nice to hear your voice!" He told her, his voice smooth as silk and making her shiver. "Should we wait until you're sitting down to have this conversation? Because I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"No, I—I'm sitting down already," Selina assured him because she'd thought the same thing. "I just wanted to call you and thank you for the flowers cause it's good manners and if I didn't, the universe would make my mother find out and then I would get a lecture. So, thanks. They were very unexpected."

"Did you throw them out?" He asked.

"No, they're by my bed so I can see them all the time," Selina replied. "Where in the world did you find flowers like that?"

"Does it matter?" Dorian asked. "You want me to tell you what I would do with those roses if I was in bed with you?"

"No," Selina told him as her voice shook.

He ignored her. "I would take one of them and I would run it over your chin and your neck and all down your body, and it would feel just like the black silk sheets we covered ourselves with. Or not. Sometimes I like to sleep without blankets, don't you? Just the air on my skin. Isn't it wonderful?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "It's…it's okay."

"Oh, you're adorable when you're trying to hide your feelings," he told her. "At least for now, anyway."

"Thanks, I guess," Selina replied. "I don't know how else to respond to that."

"So you liked the flowers," Dorian went on after a few seconds of silence.

"Yes, they were definitely a nice surprise," Selina confessed. "A good pick me up. Things have sucked for me since Elijah lost his powers thanks to stupid John." Her eyes narrowed and she growled.

"It's good you liked them because as the card said, there'll be more where that came from," Dorian informed her. "You _did_ read the card, didn't you?"

"Oh, of course I read the card," Selina nodded. "Roxie brought it to me and was there when I read it cause she thought she would enjoy the look on my face."

"You mean the look of complete and utter happiness because someone is thinking of you after your husband treated you so cruelly?" Dorian asked.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad," Selina waved his say aside. "And I don't know about accepting all these gifts! I didn't take them from Elijah when he offered. What makes you think I'll take them from you? What are you trying to prove? That I owe you some debt by accepting them? Is that what this is?"

"My god, no!" Dorian tried to reassure her because he had no idea that she'd react to something as nice as gifts this strongly. "I just…like I said in the card, there's no obligation to you. You can throw them away if you want. I just want you to know that you have options."

"I'm sorry," Selina sighed. "I just…I've never been good at accepting things like this from people. Maybe it's cause I'm too proud. I don't know. See? I'm horribly flawed! Good thing you know this now!"

"Yes, I know it, but it doesn't scare me," Dorian told her firmly. "Everyone has flaws. No reason to hide them. If you want to be with someone, shouldn't they accept all of you, and not just the parts they like?"

"Okay, stop!" Selina told him. "You're just saying things I want to hear now. I bet you don't mean any of it. Not really."

"Please don't talk like that," he urged, wishing he could be there with her, kissing her and playing with her hair. "Please don't."

"You're cheating," She mumbled "You told me that I wouldn't see you for a month. That you would give me time. And telling me all these nice things is not helping my resolve."

"I'll stop if it bothers you," He assured her. "I just…I couldn't listen to you talk about yourself like that." He imagined kissing her forehead and giving her a hug. "My god, what did he do to you? What did they all do to you to make you look at yourself this way?"

"I don't know," Selina sighed. "Thanks for the flowers and everything and I'm excited to see what my other presents will be, but…will you let me hang up now? Please?"

"All right," Dorian conceded. "I have other things to attend to, anyway. Nothing as exciting as being with you, of course, but…"

"Goodbye, Dorian," she said firmly and ended the call. Then, she picked one of the roses out of the vase, removed her shirt, and shut her eyes, moving the rose over her neck and chest and pretending it was him doing it instead. It wasn't as good as the real thing, but it was a start, anyway.

* * *

The first place Dorian went after leaving Selina's was John's house. Just because he was curious about what sort of people his son was associating with. When he knocked on John's door frame, the man looked up, nonplussed.

"Yes, who are you?" He demanded. "What do you want?"

Dorian strode into the room and narrowed his eyes, slamming his hands down on John's desk and making the man's eyes widen. "There's only one person I let talk to me so rudely," he hissed. "And you're not her. I believe you know my son, Eric?" He launched himself forward when John remained quiet. "Answer me, you fool!"

When John wouldn't answer him, Dorian asked again, through gritted teeth: "Do you know my son, Eric?"

"Unfortunately, we've met," John nodded. "And just so you know, I'm not scared of you. If you think you intimidate me, you don't. I've had much more frightening people come into this office. You coming in here to cause trouble is nothing."

"Is that so?" Dorian raised an eyebrow. "Please tell me who could come in here and be more terrifying than me?"

"She's an ex-girlfriend of mine and she likes to come around when she's least wanted," John said dryly. "You think you can beat that?"

Dorian just heard that and laughed. "I cannot believe my son," He shook his head. "I really can't. Why did I pick him when there are so many others? He lets you be in charge of this big plan of his and you can't even stand up to your former lover without fear? What sort of a man are you?"

"How many more do you have?" John asked, eyes wide.

"More than you'd care to hear about," Dorian replied, baring his teeth. "Would you like to meet them?"

"No," John shook his head, feeling very small and powerless all of a sudden. "No thank you."

"I thought you would say that," Dorian remarked. "But you just might. It depends on how I feel." He then decided to stop wasting his time, leaving John alone in his office, looking straight at a wall as he came to a decision that he really hated having to make.

He ran to see Freya, knowing she would like what he was going to do. "I…I want you to know that I've decided to give the rest of your family their powers back."

"Have you now?" Freya asked dryly. "It's about time. That powerlessness has already destroyed two of my brothers' marriages. I hope you're proud of yourself."

But using this reasoning, John wasn't ashamed at all. "Well, if something as simple as not having magic drew your brothers from their wives, then their relationships must not have been very strong to begin with, right? Or based on something very unhealthy. I did them a favor. And don't try and convince me otherwise, cause you won't be able to." He did the spell that returned everyone else's powers, then asked, "Where's Ingrid?"

"She's having her nap," Freya told him. "It took me forever to get her to sleep, so don't you dare wake her."

John chuckled. "If it took you forever, you're obviously not doing it right." He left the room as Freya rolled her eyes and went to go read a book. He was in a mood for some reason and usually, the bet way to deal with him when he got like that was to just ignore him.

* * *

The next morning, Elijah woke up and groaned when he realized that he'd run out of coffee beans and had to use Selina's stupid new machine that he could never figure out how to use. He had to remember to send it to her, along with her hideous chair cause there was no way he was letting it take up space now that she wasn't around to sit in it. He struggled with the damn machine, cursing, sweating, and groaning until Amy came in and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey," she greeted quietly, making him start. "I thought I would wake up to the delightful smell of coffee and not cursing. Is this normal for you?"

"No, I apologize," Elijah flushed just a bit. "I'm using a machine I'm not familiar with and it's making me want to hit things."

"I see," Amy nodded as she examined his hand that had a cut on it. She got out bandages and some alcohol, rubbing it on the cut while Elijah sucked in a breath, then putting on a bandage and kissing it. "There," she smiled. "Better?"

"Yes," he nodded. "I think so. Thank you very much." He then pointed at the coffee machine and remarked, "Please tell me you know how to work this thing because if I don't have coffee in the morning, it's not a good thing."

"Oh, you have to be exaggerating," Amy smiled.

"I wish I was," Elijah remarked. He came up behind her and put an arm around her waist as he watched her work the machine. He was surprised at how simple it was. He began playing with her hair and asked, "Amy, can you tell me what color hair you have?"

"You know that," Amy replied. "I'm a redhead!"

"Well, that's a very simple description for something so beautiful," Elijah told her, which made her blush. They stood close like this for longer that was strictly necessary, and soon, he was helping her to the table with her coffee and his.

As they were drinking it, the doorbell rang.

"I wonder who that could be at this hour of the morning?" Amy questioned. "Why don't I go see?"

"I'll come with you," Elijah offered. "Given your situation, you might want to be careful about who you open doors to."

This proved to be very good advice when he opened the door and the first thing he saw was a fist plowing into his face with enough force that he fell backward and landed hard in the entry way.

"Klaus, have you lost your mind?" Amy asked as she ran to help Elijah up. "What are you doing here? I told you we were done!"

"Yes, but things have changed now," Klaus remarked, coming inside and revealing his much svelter self. "I have my powers back. And since you and I are still married, I have to say that I'm not comfortable with your being here with him. Did you know that you're not the first woman he's taken from me?"

Elijah then punched Klaus in the face. "What are you babbling about, Niklaus?" he demanded. "Whatever you think is happening between me and Amy is a product of your own deranged mind."

"Is it really?" Klaus panted. "Or are you just telling yourselves that? I'd really like to know."

"Well, even if something _was_ to happen between us, it would be none of your business, would it?" Amy asked. "I'm still not coming home with you after how you behaved. I'm putting my foot down."

"Leave now," Elijah told his brother firmly, gesturing out the open door. "Go through that door and don't come back unless we invite you."

"You think that'll keep me away?" Klaus smiled a crazed smile. "It won't." He gave Amy a kiss on the cheek. "See you later, love."


	36. Simply Irresistible

Selina thought a change of scenery would do her good so she left the bar and went to visit her mother. "How nice to see you!" Amelia exclaimed and gave her a hug. "How have you been?"

"Elijah and I are splitting up, I think," Selina sighed and sat down on the sofa while her uncle brought her a drink.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Amelia replied. "It's such a shame when stuff like that happens." That was all she said, nothing about what had Selina done to drive him away or anything like that. What had happened to her?

They sat in silence until Roxie arrived and came inside clutching a box with a big pink bow.

"What's that?" Selina asked. "Is it from Dorian again?"

"Oh, who's that?" Amelia asked.

"Just a…guy who likes me and wants me to like him back," Selina told her. "I'm trying not to encourage him too much."

"Yeah, right," Roxie scoffed.

Selina opened the box and looked the small gift over. "Perfume!" She cried. "One of the kinds with all the roses that I wanted, but could never bring myself to buy."

"Read the card, Grandma," Roxie smiled.

So Amelia took it out and read: _Here is your second gift, something that will last longer than the roses. It's a bit conventional, I suppose, but…I…I confess I truly believe this is something you want, but would never buy yourself. This way, everyone wins. And there's a little something extra for you too, to spray on your pillow and think of me._

 _Enjoy, mi amor!_

Amelia then removed a box of men's cologne. "Seems very sure of himself, doesn't he?" She remarked. The she looked at her daughter. "Do you allow this sort of impudent behavior from a man who's not even your husband?"

"I'm not sure yet," Selina replied. "That's why I told him to give me a month to figure it out."

"Well, if you're accepting his gifts, you've pretty much decided, haven't you?" Amelia questioned.

"I know it's not nice to take things if I'm not going to accept him after, but it feels nice to be wanted and desired," Selina sighed and sniffed the perfume that was meant for her. "It's been some time since I really and truly felt that." She paused and gave her mother a keen glance. "Kind of like you and Uncle Andrew, don't you think? I mean, you were with him before you were married. It was because he made you feel like you were worth something after so long of not feeling it?"

"Yes," Amelia sighed. "He really did, so I suppose I can't blame you or chastise you because I've been there. But what do you know about this man? He could be someone terrible! He could be a murderer!"

"Mama, I'm a vampire, remember?" Selina reminded her. "If he is some sort of crazed murderer or something, I can handle it."

"Well, I hope so," Amelia told her. "And I know you think I worry too much, but I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Thank you," Selina replied and hugged her. "That's really nice to know. I promise that I'll watch out for myself. Really."

* * *

Once again, Selina delayed calling Dorian and thanking him for his gifts. She didn't want him to feel like she was leading him on before she made her final choice, and there was still time before she had to. Out of curiosity, she put some of the cologne on her pillow that night, then got in bed and took a big sniff before going to sleep. That was a mistake.

 _It was a dark night and only a sliver of a moon lit the sky. She was a wolf, and it was wonderfully freeing to walk around out in the open and do as she pleased. She was also hungry. Her ears pricked up when she heard cries of terror in the woods. She ran toward them and saw a man wearing very little wrestling with another man, cutting his throat. The smell of blood excited her and she decided to take the prey for herself. She pounced and tried to pull the body away, but then heard a voice that made her recoil. She looked up at the other man and growled. He shined a light in her eyes which made her back away even more, especially as he held the flashlight above his head, presumably to hit her with it and make her go away. But as he examined her, he put the flashlight down and came to pet her instead. "I suppose I shouldn't blame you," Dorian whispered. "You're just doing as you're meant to do. Would you like to share?" He scratched her ears. "My god, you're a beautiful creature."_

 _He then stepped back and watched as she took her fill of the other man, and when she turned to look at him again, he'd changed too: become a large black beast with glowing red eyes._

 _Leaving the body where it was, the two beasts chased each other around the woods until, not exactly knowing how it happened, she found herself human, naked, and lying on the forest floor, Dorian above her. They both stared at one another, panting heavily before he took her in his arms, moved the hair out of her eyes, and tried to kiss her._

" _No," she said and pulled back. "My mouth. I should…I should clean up. So much blood…"_

" _Don't," Dorian shook his head, gently licking the blood off the side of her mouth, then taking her in his arms and kissing her soundly as he pulled her close to his bare body and entering her over and over again as she cried out his name. It had been too long, that was for sure…_

Selina woke up with a gasp. Although she'd gone to bed in a t-shirt and panties, she was naked now. And hot. Very hot. She tried to cool herself by splashing cold water on her face and neck, but it wasn't good enough.

Finally, she went down to the lower floor of the bar, changed into her wolf form, went outside, and ran around, doing what she pleased and feeling just as she had in her dream… _freedom_.

* * *

"My god, Mom, what happened to you?" Roxie asked in surprise when she came to see Selina the following morning and found her covered in blood and dirt. "Did you have some sort of accident?" She paused, and gasped as her eyes widened. "No, never mind! You were out hunting, weren't you? You became a wolf, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Selina grinned. "I did. And there was no one to yell at me about it. It's great."

"And did you kill anyone?" Roxie asked, throwing her a t-shirt and sitting down beside her. "How does that make you feel?"

"Not bad, if that's what you mean," Selina shook her head. "Sure, I came across some people, but no one blames an animal for doing what instinct tells them to do, do they? So why should I feel bad?"

"I'm not saying you should," Roxie shook her head. "I'm just amazed you can think that way after all of Uncle Elijah's years of brainwashing."

"I don't know how much of it really soaked in," Selina admitted. "Or how much I just pretended to go along with to make him happy and keep the peace."

Roxie's nose wrinkled. "That sounds awful. I bet you're glad to be away from that."

"In a way, yes," Selina nodded. "There are things I miss too, though, that made it worth it. But that doesn't matter now."

"You just have to move on," Roxie nodded and handed her her phone that had just started ringing. "Don't forget to thank Dorian for the perfume if that's him who's calling!"

"I was gonna do that," Selina scowled. "Would you stop sounding like my mother? Don't you have a bar to run?"

"Well, gee, I guess I hit a nerve," Roxie grinned and left the room.

"Hello?" Selina asked. "Sorry about the wait."

"It's all right," Dorian remarked. "I can wait, darling."

The pet name made her suck in her breath and she put the call on speaker and lay back in bed, glad she wasn't wearing panties cause the sound of his voice was making her tingly. She rubbed herself under the blankets. "You shouldn't call me 'darling'" She reminded him. "Remember, we talked about this." She moaned and then quickly put a hand over her mouth.

"That's right," Dorian replied. "I'm sorry, Miss Warren." But that didn't help. It only made her want to rub herself harder. "What was it that you called about? Surely it wasn't just to make moaning noises into the phone."

"No," Selina assured him. "I just…I wanted to say thank you for the perfume. It's just what I wanted. You were right about that."

"And the cologne?" Dorian asked. "Have you used that too? On your pillow?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "Yes, yes!" Then her body twisted as she climaxed. "Oh, god," she got out. "Yes, I have. I had a very interesting dream about you and me in the woods that I will _not_ elaborate on because it's _not_ any of your business."

"Oh, of course," Dorian agreed, the idea for his next present popping up in his mind. "But just to satisfy my curiosity, are you pleasuring yourself to the sound of my voice?"

"How dare you ask me that?!" She cried. "You…you…you…cad!" The last word was something of an antique, but it was the worst epithet she could think of to describe him at the moment. She expected him to be offended and end the call in a huff, but he just laughed.

"You sure showed me," He told her, and she see that smarmy twinkle in his eye. "You really think you know how to insult a man, don't you? But I'm _far_ from offended. I'm actually rather touched. I would suggest we end this charade right now, call the month over, and have you meet at my house for dinner, but since you're still stubbornly clinging to certain ideas about me, I don't think you're ready for that. But when you are…I'd like you to wear the perfume. Will you, if I promise to wear the cologne?"

"Only if you want me to be so turned on that we skip dinner and go straight to bed," Selina sighed. She hated to admit it, but what was the point in hiding it? She found the man attractive. It was nothing to be ashamed of.

"I wouldn't mind skipping dinner," He told her, his voice seeming to caress her with its smoothness. "It's something I look forward to."

She emitted a squeak and Dorian told her, "I'm picturing your face right now and I feel I'm being unkind. I don't want to overwhelm you with your feelings. I'm glad you enjoyed the perfume and I…I hope you like what I send you next."

"You wanna tell me what that is so I can mentally prepare?" Selina questioned.

"No," Dorian refused. "What fun would that be? Have a good day, Miss Warren. And be sure to use that cologne responsibly."

"I will," Selina assured him. "Don't you worry about that. Goodbye, Mr. Gray."

"Goodbye, Miss Warren. Thank you for the call. It's so nice of you to think of me." And on that note, he ended the call, and Selina went to the bathroom and got dressed.

* * *

After their encounter with Klaus, Elijah worried for Amy's safety, and he wasn't shy about telling her so. "He knows where you are, so if you would feel safer going somewhere else, I understand."

"Oh, no!" Amy shook her head. "I'm not afraid of him. I'm staying right here." She paused. "The only thing that would cause me to leave is knowing my presence in the house would make Selina unhappy, but since that's no longer an issue, there you go." She looked around the immaculate house and said, "I would ask what I can do to earn my keep, but everything's so neat that it doesn't seem like that's necessary."

"And I wouldn't put you to work since you're a guest anyway," Elijah got up and handed her a piece of paper. "Would you make a grocery list?" He asked. "I want to make sure we have everything you want in the refrigerator. Do you eat healthier than Selina did? I assume you do, which will be a nice change."

"It's a goal of mine," Amy nodded. "You know, I have the best recipe for eggplant parmesan. Would you like to give it a try with me?"

"Sure," Elijah nodded. "I would love to."

"Good," Amy replied with a smile, then grabbed a piece of paper and made a list of ingredients, then headed out to the car with Elijah deciding to tag along at the last minute in case she needed help carrying things.

That night cause she was tired after all the cooking, Amy decided to take a shower and go to bed early. Her mind was working on autopilot, not realizing that she hadn't brought her night gown into the bathroom until after she'd gotten out. "Shit," she whispered, a rare curse. She put a towel on, hoping that Elijah wouldn't be offended by her wandering around his house in a state of undress. Her room wasn't far. She could run there, run back, and he wouldn't know about this. But, just her luck, she ran into him on the way out. Literally. They ran into each other in the dimly lit hallway, falling back on the floor, then sitting up as Amy struggled to keep her towel on.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Elijah apologized. "I didn't see you."

"That's fine," Amy assured him. She straightened out the towel and sighed. "I really want to apologize for running around your house like this. I was going to get my night gown and…" To her surprise, he didn't let her finish her explanation. He put a finger over her mouth, shaking his head.

"You don't have to explain," he said, then moved his finger. "This is your house too now. You can do what you want."

"And you don't mind?" Amy asked.

"No, I don't, really," Elijah shook his head. "Now, where did you say you were going? To get your night gown?"

"Yes," Amy nodded.

"Well, since it's so dark in here, let me help you," Elijah offered and picked her up.

"You don't have to do this," she said as he carried her to her room. "Not that I'm not grateful, but wouldn't putting lights on be easier than carrying me?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "Not at all. It's no trouble." They got to her door and then she went inside and he followed.

"Is there anything else you want?" She asked.

His arm brushed against hers as he went to turn the light on and when he could see her clearly, his hands balled into fists as tried to stop himself from thinking what she looked like without the towel.

"Elijah?" Amy asked. "Are you all right?"

"No, I'm not," he replied, letting out a breath. "I want you, Amy. Please."

"Well-" Amy began as he swept her into his arms and kissed her deeply, her towel falling to her feet. She pushed him away and tried to put it on again. "We shouldn't do this," she reminded him. "What about your brother?"

Elijah shook his head. "I don't give a damn about my brother. Do you? I know you don't, even though you're too nice to say it. For once in our lives, can we just stop caring so much about other people and just do what we want?"

She nodded and let him pick her up, take her to her bed, and hold her against himself as he kissed her again.

"You know," he said when he pulled away. "I've always wanted to do that in the back of my mind."

"Yeah," Amy nodded and kissed his neck, "Me too. Why did it take so long?"

"Cause we were too busy killing ourselves caring about other people," Elijah replied, parting her legs and pleasuring her with his tongue before pushing into her over and over as years and years of restrained, secret passion poured out of him while he listened to her call out his name. "But not anymore, don't you think?"

"Yes," Amy nodded as he nipped her neck and gave her what would probably be a good-sized hickey in the morning. "I do."

* * *

"Now that you've shown me all that you can do, why don't we have a more intense lesson today?" Patrick questioned as Addie came into his training room.

"How intense?" Addie asked. "And is when you say 'intense lesson' are you meaning something else?"

Patrick raised an eyebrow as he came to put his arms around her waist and kiss her neck. "It could," he told her. "It's up to you. How committed are you to your exercise program?"

"Well," Addie shook her hips as his hands went over her skintight pink workout outfit. "It can be any sort of exercise you have in mind. I don't care."

He paused for a moment, trying to think. "All right," he said, ordering her on her back on the floor, then looming over her and making her giggle. "I think I have just the thing in mind."

"Oh?" Addie asked, a naughty twinkle in her eye. "What's that?"

"I think you know," Caleb told her. "But we have to do a few things first."

"Damn, really?" Addie asked. "What kinds of things?"

"There are exercises that improve the sexual experience," Patrick explained. He got down beside her and started doing bridges. "Do ten of those," he instructed. He then watched her plant her heels on the floor and push upward so that her back was off the floor and she looked like a bridge. "Hold that for twenty," he said. She did, along with some back and torso twists, some crunches and pushups, then collapsed on the floor.

"Stop," she pleaded. "Have mercy, Let's do the fun exercise now." She turned her head and saw that while she'd been working out, he'd undressed completely.

"All right," he told her. "I mean, if you're too tired from the other stuff, we can stop…"

"No," Addie said firmly and peeled off her workout clothes before grabbing him, holding him tight, and kissing him deeply. "Don't hold back now. Don't make me be the only one who exercises."

"Oh, I wasn't planning on it," He assured her pulling her close and slipping inside her as he gave her a smile. "Would you like to see my pelvic thrusts?"

"Sure," Addie grinned. "Why not?"

He then pushed into her over and over and she laughed and clung to him, knowing that she was definitely going to get a very good workout today.


	37. Getting Ready To Meet Destiny

Although she couldn't deny that her tryst with Elijah had been one of the most amazing things she'd ever experienced, after it happened, Amy felt some guilt. Even though she'd announced an informal separation from Klaus, she was still technically his wife, which meant that she had gone to bed with her brother-in-law, who was _also_ technically still married. It really made her feel shame, even though she knew she hadn't done anything wrong. To try and calm her nerves, she went and got herself some tea, making her way out of the kitchen when Elijah came in.

"Hey," he smiled and gently took her in his arms from behind. "Would you like me to move some of your things into my room? After what we did last night, I think it might be nice. What do you say?"

She turned around and gasped. He looked only half awake, his hair sticking up at odd angles. He wore nothing but jeans and was barefoot. "Well, this is a new look," she remarked. "I like it."

He still said nothing, watching her intently, which unnerved her a little, cause she could feel his gaze boring into her back, even though she wasn't looking at him. She knew he was waiting for an answer, but she didn't know what to tell him. "Can I get you some tea?" She asked, moving his hands and walking toward the counter.

"No, thank you, I'm fine," he shook his head. "Now, about what I just asked you…"

"I don't know if I can," Amy shook her head, glad he couldn't see her blush. "I mean, I enjoy what we did, but…should we make a habit of it? Is it wrong? I'm starting to feel ashamed."

He grabbed her and spun her around so that she was looking into his eyes with such suddenness that the teacup she'd held went flying and smashed on the floor.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized. "Let me clean that up. You wouldn't want to step on the shards and hurt yourself."

"You don't have to do that," he told her firmly, his eyes full of the same intense passion they'd had the night before. "Don't feel ashamed. You didn't do anything wrong. Please don't."

"But your brother…" Amy got out.

"Who cares about my brother!" Elijah burst out. "If our relationships with Niklaus and Selina taught us anything, it should be that there is no harm in thinking about ourselves sometimes and that's the way to go if we expect to stay in a relationship at all."

"What, I…" Amy was still dazed as he pulled her to himself and kissed her soundly.

"This is nuts!" She said, looking shocked as they pulled apart. "I-I can't! It's so inconsiderate!"

"Of Klaus?" Elijah asked. "What did he do in your relationship to merit such loyalty and consideration? You gave and you gave, but you never got anything in return. Now it's time, don't you think? You deserve it."

Amy ran her hands down his bare chest and gave what he said some thought. And he wasn't wrong. The whole reason why she'd left was because Klaus had put her through one horrifying episode too many and she'd had enough. Why was she going against that now?

She stepped back and held out the hand that had her wedding ring on it to Elijah. "Take it off," she said. "I don't think I need it anymore."

As Elijah slid the ring off her finger, his breathing picked up as he stared at it, unblinking. It was as if he were removing her blouse or her skirt. When it was off, he stared at it, then put it on the counter. There," he said. "That's over with."

"Yes," she nodded and kissed his cheek after throwing her arms around his neck. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Elijah replied.

"I think…I think this deserves a drink, don't you?" Amy asked.

"Yes," Elijah grinned. "Champagne? Perfect for the evening, I would say. And let's drink it outside."

Amy looked him over. "I assume you want to go change first? Or at least put on shoes?"

"No, I don't think so," Elijah shook his head. "It's a warm night. I won't freeze or anything."

Amy put a hand on his forehead. "What happened to you? Are you sick? You're acting completely differently. Do you realize that?"

"Yes, I do," Elijah nodded. "And I…I can't explain why. It's as if, with Selina gone, a huge weight has been lifted off my chest. Don't get me wrong: she's a darling woman and I loved her, but…the stress of having to make sure she stayed someone I could allow myself to like without compromising my morals…it was a stressful thing and not good for either of us."

"Yeah," Amy nodded. "I know what you mean. I feel the same way without Klaus. It was as if our whole relationship was about me making sure he didn't go too far off the deep end. And that didn't leave a lot of time for real conversation or genuine love and connection. Sure there were times we had that, but…not enough." She reached out and ran the back of her hand down Elijah's cheek and he grabbed it and kissed the palm before she took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply. "Are we still going to have that drink outside?" She asked.

"Of course," Elijah nodded, pouring wine in two glasses. They each took one and held hands with their free hand, then went out onto the deck, slowly drinking their drinks and looking at the stars without saying a word as his hand continued to clutch hers.

When they got inside and the door was shut behind them, without any further ceremony, Amy grabbed Elijah and kissed him, reaching up to ruffle his hair with her free hand, just to see what he would do.

He gave her a severe look, grabbed her wrist, and leaned forward so their lips were nearly touching. "Did you just tousle my hair?" He whispered.

"Yeah," Amy nodded. "What are you gonna do about it?"

"Well, let me show you," Elijah replied, giving her a couple of spankings before picking her up and carrying her to his bedroom. He lay her down on his bed and climbed in beside her as she quickly undressed and he did likewise.

"Oh, it seems I'll be learning my lesson naked," Amy remarked.

"Yes," Elijah nodded, grabbing her and kissing her everywhere he could get his lips on in a very hungry way. "Yes, you will!" He then pushed her back down onto the mattress, stared at her for a second, then ran his finger down her neck and whispered, "Do you trust me? I won't take much."

"Yes," Amy nodded in a breathy voice. "Did you forget to feed today?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded, then grabbed her and gently bit her, getting hard as she moaned his name while he licked the extra blood off her neck and buried himself inside her.

* * *

When Dorian's next gift didn't come in a timely manner, Selina didn't know whether to be relieved or upset. She called him and said, "Do I still have a present coming? Not that I think I'm entitled to it or anything, but…you're usually so prompt with your presents!"

"I decided not to send it," Dorian told her.

"You didn't?" Selina asked. "Did I do something wrong?" The thought that she may have displeased him somehow was a little distressing. "Are you just gonna give my presents away?"

"No, angel, I'm not," he said. "I'm going to bring them to you. I know we said a month, but who are we kidding? You know and I know that we're just waiting for something we already know the answer to." He paused and lowered his voice to the intimate timbre that made her tingle. "You know I'm right, don't you?"

"Well…" Selina was shocked. She'd known this day was coming, but now that it was here, she didn't know what to say. "You're gonna come for me?" She asked.

"Not yet," Dorian said. "I just want to talk a little first. Give you more relief with the sound of my voice, since I can do that now."

"Oh, shut up!" Selina blushed. "Don't you tease me!"

"I think it's adorable," he told her. "I'm not making fun. Now, where should we start? How about you get on the bed? Well, first, I think I'll undress. I do better with things like this when I'm not wearing anything."

"What?" Selina asked.

"I'm taking my pants off!" He told her. "You get undressed too. And don't forget to get on the bed!"

He was taking his pants off. The very thought made her head spin. He probably didn't even wear underwear.

"Are you on the bed?" Came his voice.

"Yes, I'm getting there!" Selina assured him. She got on the bed and positioned herself. "I'm taking off my shirt too. And my bra. And my skirt…"

"What sort of underwear are you wearing?" He asked. "Tiny ones? Black lace?"

"Red bikini panties," she told him.

"Well, don't take them off yet," he told her. "Let's start with something familiar. Reach under your panties and touch yourself. Rub yourself really good. Don't hold back."

"Oh," Selina moaned as she did just that. "Don't stop talking and it will be easy! Damn this feels good!"

"How good?" Dorian asked. "Not good enough that you have no use for me."

"Oh, not _that_ good!" Selina assured him. "But good enough to last me until I see you again, anyway."

"Well, that's a relief," Dorian told her. Then he cleared his throat and continued. "Run your hands over your body. Don't miss a spot. And tell me where you're touching."

When she rubbed her inner thighs, she felt a tiny tingle, as well as a pleasant pain when she gently squeezed her nipple.

"Feeling better?" Dorian asked, making note that it wasn't only when he touched her that she was a noisy person.

"Yes, very much, thank you," she assured him. Then she sat up and tried to calm her breathing. "Anything I can do for you? Do you need relief, Dorian?"

It was the first time she'd called him by his name, and not by the formal 'Mr. Gray'. Could this be the first step toward no longer keeping him at a distance? He wondered. "Yes," he told her. "As you can imagine, I do. I was wondering if you'd be so kind as to help me with that."

"Sure," Selina replied. "How do I do that?"

"Oh, I think you know," Dorian told her. "Say my name again. Say what you know I want to hear. Even if, in your heart of hearts, you don't yet mean it. Because you will someday."

So she did, repeating his name over and over until she heard him climax. "Really? That's all it takes?" She asked.

"Yes," he told her.

"The dream I had…I was a wolf," she said. "I was running around at night and I…I found you in the woods. You were killing a man. You stroked me, slowly, gently, over and over. You asked me if I wanted to have my turn with your victim. I did. When he was dead, you turned into a big hairy beast with red eyes. We ran around, just the two of us, in the moonlight and before I knew it, we were both naked on the forest floor. I was on my back, you were on your knees, looming over me and looking deep into my eyes. As I stared back, I felt was drowning in that gaze. Then, you took me in your arms and tried to kiss me.

"And did you let me?" Dorian asked, sounding spellbound. "I hope you did."

"I-I pulled back at first, cause I was covered with blood from the kill and I thought you wouldn't like that. But you didn't care. You…you licked the blood off my mouth and then we were kissing and you were holding me close, burying yourself inside me over and over as I called out your name…"

She heard moans on the other end of the line. "And did you…did you like that?" Dorian asked, sounding like he was struggling to catch a breath. "Did you like having me inside of you?"

"Yes," Selina nodded as he let out a cry on the other end of the line. "If that's how it felt in the dream, I can't wait to find out how it will feel in real life."

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem," Dorian assured her as she heard a knock on her bedroom door.

Selina put on a robe and went to answer the knock. It was Roxie again, with a box that had been opened. "What's that?" She asked. "Is that for me?"

"Yes, more presents for you, milady," Roxie gave a little curtsy and a wink as she handed her mother the box and scurried off.

"Roxie brought me a box," Selina told Dorian. "Is it from you?"

"Yes," Dorian replied. "Just a few things I would like you to wear when my chauffeur comes to bring you home."

"And how long do I have until that happens?" Selina asked. "I need time to pack and all."

"Oh, you shouldn't," Dorian told her. "I got you a whole new wardrobe that's waiting in the closet at my penthouse, but I suppose if you feel you need to bring a few things…a couple of hours?"

"All right," Selina nodded. "And I obviously don't need to tell you where I should be picked up. See you soon." She paused. "Actually, can we make it tomorrow? If we make it tomorrow, I'll be totally ready."

There was a weary sigh. "All right, goodbye, my love," Dorian told her.

"Goodbye, Dorian," Selina answered back. She then thought that she should have said something more affectionate, but he didn't seem to mind, since the sound of her saying his name actually aroused him. She opened the box and found a black dress with off the shoulder sleeves in black lace and two pairs of shoes: one pair of silver high heels and one pair of silver ballet flats with ribbons on the toes. One of the heels had a note in it: _choose wisely, I don't want you to fall, and I know you have a tendency to do that with me. :) I know you have an issue with accepting things from people, but I hope you like all of this. I saw it and I couldn't resist. I hope you don't mind dressing up on occasion because I have a very romantic dinner set up for when you arrive. Don't worry, I'll be dressed up too, and wearing my cologne that you love so much. Don't forget to put some of yours on. I know this is sudden, but I really think we're doing something we won't regret. I want you near me, and not just because I picture making love to you every time I close my eyes. See you soon._

 _Dorian_

"Ha ha, very funny, Mr. Gray," Selina whispered. But he had a point. She decided to play it safe and wear the flats with the dress. Then she gasped when she reached the bottom of the box, finding not only teddies in several colors, but also multiple pairs of French underwear, and even a thong or two. "Guess he didn't want me to be short on underwear," she whispered and rolled her eyes. "How thoughtful of him.

Having a pretty good idea of what his plans would be when she arrived at his apartment, she tried on a pair of tiny black lace panties with ribbons on them, the dress, and the flats. All easy to slide off, which she knew would be a very good thing. She also put up her hair in case he was one of those people that got a thrill from taking it down and playing with it, then packed and, after changing so the dress wouldn't be too wrinkly before tomorrow, went to tell Roxie and Vince what was going on and thanking them for their help.

"So you're actually gonna go?" Roxie asked. "Good for you, Mom. I'm proud. You're being impulsive."

"I really don't think I am, this time," Selina shook her head. "I know it might seem like it, but I think it will be okay."

* * *

Lilith was roused from sleep by a very insistent doorbell in the middle of the night. "What is wrong with people?" She grouched, her demon face appearing for a moment. She got out of bed and put on slippers and a robe, then went down to the front door.

"All right, shut up, I hear you!" She called. "And if you think you can just ring that damn bell and wake me up, I oughta punch you in the-"

She was cut off as the ringing stopped and the door opened to reveal Caleb.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I had no idea the door was unlocked or I wouldn't have rung the bell. You really should lock it at night you know."

"Or what?" Lilith asked. "What could happen?"

He smiled, came toward her, and took her in his arms. "Men who miss you and want to kiss you really bad could just come striding in here and do that," he said just before his lips touched hers and he pulled her close.

"Well," Lilith smiled when they pulled apart for just a moment. "If that's the worst danger out there. I'm gonna keep my door unlocked more often."

"At least for me, anyway," Caleb agreed. He let her lead him to her bedroom where they undressed and began kissing furiously after falling back on Lilith's bed. Then Caleb smirked. "I don't know if we should do this," he told her as he played with her hair. "You said you were too tired…"

"Hey!" Lilith growled, her face changing for a moment. "Don't you dare!" She then took a deep breath. "Sorry. You saw the face, didn't you? I bet that spoiled the mood."

"No," Caleb took her face in his hands. "I don't think it spoiled the mood at all. I think you're beautiful." He kissed her and she smiled and blushed.

"Thanks for coming," she told him. "It's nice after all the worrying I've done about Sophia and Eric. He lets her call sometimes. Or even if he doesn't let her, she does anyway."

"Well, that's great to know!" Caleb replied. "I'll be sure and tell Jill because she's understandably very freaked out."

"Yeah," Lilith nodded, "I bet she is."

"But enough about that," Caleb hopped off the bed. "You got any candles around? Or any way to get soft lighting? Cause I think we need soft lighting."

He couldn't find any candles, so he just zapped up a few flashlights and put them on a dim setting. "I hope that's good enough," he remarked.

"Oh, it's great," Lilith replied. "It's sweet you're trying to come up with atmosphere."

"I try," Caleb told her and then got into bed with her, pulling her close. They kissed and when they pulled apart, she said, "You're about to have sex with a demon. Remember that."

"Well, you might be a demon," Caleb replied. "But you're also one of the most worthwhile people I've ever met, and you're pretty and you're sweet, and I don't give a fuck about anything else."

"Thank you," Lilith told him, her eyes wet. "You…I don't know if you know how happy I am to hear you say that."

"I think I do," he told her, wiping her eyes and lying her down on the mattress. "That's exactly why I said it. I believe I love you, Lilith."

"I love you too," Lilith replied as she put her arms around him and he buried himself inside her and kissed her neck. "I really do."


	38. Make Yourself At Home

When the driver arrived, he helped her take her bags and the box out to the limo (a limo this time? How wonderful!) and then, after one last goodbye, Selina got in and was driven away. As she sipped champagne and ate little appetizers, she thought about what was waiting for her. She hoped that he would be there to answer the door. And when it opened, he would smile and take her in his arms, and it…it would feel right. She would feel like she was home.

She shook her head. Home? With a man she barely knew? He was making her indulge in shameless romanticism! The she shrugged. What was the harm in that? And if this went wrong, it wasn't like it would be the first time.

Just like had happened during the last visit to his apartment, the driver led her to the door, then excused himself. She reached out to knock, but then pulled her hand back. This was crazy. She couldn't believe was she was doing.

"Are you hesitating?" Dorian asked from the other side of the door. "Darling, please don't hesitate!"

But when she opened the door, she didn't see him. She entered a space that was silver, black, and very modern…well, from what she could see, anyway. The lights were off and there were just a few candles lit.

"I'm here!" She cried, kicking off her shoes. "Dorian, where are you?" She took a few more steps, then let out a cry as she felt someone grab her around the waist. "Don't be afraid," he whispered in her ear. "It's just me." He nibbled on her earlobe. "I've been waiting for you." She closed her eyes as his hands went all over her body. "I'm glad you're here," he told her. "I can't wait to see you."

"Can't you see me now?" She asked. "How can you touch me like that and not see me?"

Dorian blew in her ear and she giggled. "That's not what I meant," he told her. "I'm so glad you're here. You have no idea." Then, he whispered, "I think it's time. Give me five minutes, would you?" He then sped away, leaving Selina alone.

"Five minutes for what?" She wondered aloud. Since he was gone, she took the time to look around, going through his drawers of junk and what he had lying around so she could at least have a bit of an idea of the man she'd impulsively agreed to move in with, even though she barely knew him. As she sat on his sofa and leafed through a magazine, the view out one of the large windows caught her eye. She could see every bit of the city skyline. It really was magnificent. She got up to go get a closer look and gasped. She hadn't realized how many floors up his apartment was before. She backed away from the window and ran back to the sofa. This was a safer place to look at the skyline for sure. She then wandered into the dining room, where the table had been set for two with what looked like some really expensive china. There were black roses like the ones he sent her in a vase and an unlit candelabra with some matches nearby. She chuckled to herself. He really _had_ thought of everything. Just on impulse, she reached out and took one of the black roses from the vase and sniffed it, then decided to carry it around with her instead of just putting it back. After nibbling on some vegetables and dip, she wondered just where Dorian had gone to. It was turning into the longest five minutes of her life. In a deep corner of her mind, she wondered if he wasn't coming back at all, but she quickly dismissed that thought. He wouldn't bring her all the way over here and set all this up if he was only planning to ditch her. Just the same, she thought she would go looking for him, if just to ease her own mind. She looked in every door until she found herself in a large bedroom with a bed that seemed to take up half the space. "I won't have to worry about rolling out of this thing, will I?" She asked herself as she felt the black silk sheets and fluffed up one of the pillows. "That's good news."

Then, she heard a noise from the bathroom. Her heart began to pound. What if Dorian found her in here? What if he got mad and accused her of snooping? She quickly hid under the bed and waited, trying not to make a sound. She saw Dorian's feet come out, and listened as he did some last minute things to spruce himself up.

Then, he stopped and said, "Darling, you can come out of there. I don't know why you're hiding. We're going to get here eventually. You don't have to worry about that."

Selina came out from under the bed, blushing furiously. "Sorry," she told him as he came and put his arms around her. "It just seemed like you were gone a long time and I wanted to make sure you hadn't changed your mind."

He turned her around to face him and kissed her deeply. "One thing you will learn about me, my love, is that I _never_ second guess myself. If I decide to bring you, you're here to stay."

"Well, well…good," Selina smiled. "Geez, now I feel really silly."

"You don't have to," He assured her and began kissing her earlobe again for a moment before moving down her neck. "I love that you wore your hair up," he said. "It makes kissing you so much easier."

"Oh," Selina remarked as she felt her breathing pick up again. "You're a neck person too? I always have been."

He chuckled as he put his hands around her tiny waist and then brought them up to cup her breasts and give them a gentle squeeze, which made her gasp. She was beginning to lose her mind. Her whole body was warm. "I love you in that dress," he continued to whisper as he held her against his body and began swaying gently.

"Good," she told him. "I'm glad you like it. "And to answer your question, that's exactly why I wore my hair up. I must know you better than I thought."

He turned her around to face him, grinning broadly. "I think we should eat now," he told her. "Have you seen what I have laid out for us in the dining room?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "You have a very good caterer. I might have taken some of what was on the table already when I was looking around. I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, no," he shook his head and took her hand. "That's what I wanted you to do." He began to massage her palm with his thumb, then kissed up her arm and her shoulder.

"I thought we were eating," she said. "Remember that?"

"Yes, but I'm sorry," he told her. "You…you're so enticing that I can't wait anymore. You're more appetizing to me than anything on that table out there, and I need…I need to see your lovely naked body." He paused and said, "What do you say I help you out of that dress?"

"I wouldn't mind," she told him. "In fact, I would love it."

He chuckled and began to undress her, slowly unzipping the dress and then staring as it fell to her feet.

She began to shiver and he asked, "Are you cold?"

"No," she shook her head. "I just…whenever you touch me, it gives me the shivers. You're so overpowering. I've never felt anything like it before."

"I hope that's a good thing," he said and slid her dress down her legs until it lay piled at her feet. "Is it?"

"Yes," she nodded and stepped out of the dress, waiting to see what he would do next. And waited.

"What are you doing?" She asked. "Don't make me suffer like this!"

He pulled her against him, his fingers dipping inside her soaking panties. "Look at this," he whispered. "Look what I've done."

"Yes, and you should be ashamed of yourself," she squirmed as he began to rub her gently. "I don't think you need to do that anymore. I think I just want to be in your bed."

He then left for a moment to go tell someone to put the food away, and when he returned, he came to stand behind her, pulling on one of the ribbons that adorned her tiny, black lace panties. "Let's get you out of those," he suggested. "I wouldn't want you to be in wet panties forever."

"Oh, good," Selina sighed as he gave them a tug and they slid down her legs. She kicked them aside and felt him hold her against himself again, moving his hand to cup one of her breasts as he worked on undoing the clasp of her bra with the other hand. As he got the clasp undone with a grunt, he whispered in her ear.

"Don't worry, my darling," he assured her. "I can smell your arousal. I can taste it. And it smells so good!"

She chuckled. "Maybe it's just the perfume you smell. I remembered to wear it, just like you said."

"Yes, and I have to thank you for that," he remarked. He led her to bed and she lay on the mattress, eagerly watching him undress himself, not even blinking.

After he undressed, her joined her in bed and they began to kiss each other hungrily, their hands roaming all over each other's bodies until Dorian finally pulled her close, let her hair loose and buried himself inside her over and over again as her fingers threaded through his hair and she called out his name. Then, when they were resting next to each other afterward, Dorian felt himself begin to change. He couldn't let her see his demon self. Not yet. He didn't want to scare her.

But to his surprise, she wasn't scared at all. She ran her hands gently over his cold, pale face and looked into his eyes without fear. "So this is what you really look like?" She asked. "Is it?"

He shut his eyes and kissed her palm. "You don't seem surprised."

"It was part of my dream," she shrugged. "You were a big black creature with glowing red eyes and no normal animal has glowing red eyes. And I think, even before that, in the back of my mind, I sensed a sort of darkness in you like you did with me." She traced the line of his jaw with her fingers. "You wanna see what I look like?" She asked. "I can show you, if it will make you feel better."

"See what you look like…what do you mean?" he asked. "Isn't _this_ what you look like?"

"Not all the time," she said and showed him her vampire face.

"There it is," he smiled. "I think it's beautiful."

"Thank you," she smiled and turned back. "So…are you some sort of important person for, you know, whatever species you are? I think you are. It seems like it."

"Yes," Dorian nodded, "I guess you could say that." Then he took her in his arms as her face fell. "What's the matter? Go on, you can tell me."

"You know I want to be with you," she told him. "I feel more…more accepted with you than I have my whole life. But my family…they're all, you know, vampires and werewolves and stuff, and they might not handle it so well, and as much as this means to me, I just can't go the rest of my life without seeing my family. I don't know what to do!" She then buried her face in his shoulder and began to cry in earnest.

"Sorry for spoiling the mood," she apologized when she paused to take a breath. "I'm sure the last thing you want to deal with when we're both naked is me crying like a baby."

"No, no, it's okay," he assured her as he took her in his arms, played with her hair, and kissed her forehead. "Are they anti-demon or something? Cause if they plan to become a mob and wield pitchforks, that's not going to do anything to me." He said it to try and lighten the mood, and she must have known that because she gave him a small smile.

"You're here with me," he continued. "There'll never be anyone else. You're my one and only. I've literally waited centuries to find a woman like you and now that I have, there's no way I'm letting you go now." He then put his fingers under her chin to make sure he was looking into her eyes. "Do you understand that?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "I do."

"Good," Dorian nodded. "Now that we got that more serious talk out of the way, I hope you won't mind doing something a bit more pleasurable. I think you deserve it."

"Oh, I would love that," she nodded. "Let's do. Please."

He grinned as he lay her down on the mattress and grinned, kissing her lips, neck, breasts, and belly, then ran his hands down her inner thighs before giving her another good rub and entering her a few times with his finger before parting her legs to pleasure her with his tongue.

"Oh, god," she moaned. "I like this so much more when you do it in person than when I do it myself while you're talking to me on the phone."

"I almost forgot to do something," he told her with a smile, getting up and going to grab one of the roses that were in the dining room and coming back to glide it over her body, which made her giggle.

"That sort of tickles," she smiled.

"Does it?" He asked.

"Yes," she nodded as he rubbed it under her chin and she laughed harder. "Oh, don't do that. I'm ticklish!"

"Are you?" Dorian smiled and put the rose down to tickle her with his fingers. Soon, Selina was laughing hard, all awkwardness forgotten. The she grabbed Dorian and kissed him in an attempt to distract him from the tickle assault.

"Thank you for bringing me into your life," she told him and lay down on her pillow to rest. "I appreciate it."

"I'm glad you came," he said and moved some of the hair that had fallen into her eyes before kissing her cheek.

"I love that cologne," she remarked. "It does things to me. Makes me feel all tingly."

"Even now?" He asked in surprise. "After all we just did?"

"Yes," Selina nodded, even after that. You're not the only one with a remarkable sexual appetite."

"Amazing," he remarked as he lay down beside her. "That's really amazing."

* * *

"Oh, damn!" Elijah cried as he looked at his alarm. "I overslept!"

"Me too!" Amy cried, biting one nail. "What do you think we should do? You can take the first shower."

"No, that's ridiculous," Elijah said. "It's a big shower. We can take one together. It'll save time."

Amy was a bit surprised, but agreed. They both headed to the bathroom and undressed. Amy noticed the hot look in Elijah's eyes as she removed her clothes and said, "You know, if we need to do this fast, maybe showering together isn't the best idea."

"Oh, of course it is," Elijah assured her. "We're two mature, responsible people who won't let our passions get in the way of the important things we have to do."

"Sure," Amy nodded as he undressed, turned on the water, and offered her his hand to help her in. "We can handle it."

But the second he began running over her body with the washcloth, Amy began to wonder if that was really true after all.

"Do you want me to wash you?" He asked. "Or would you rather do that yourself?"

"Well, didn't we come in here together because we wanted our shower to go fast?" Amy remarked. "What do you think would make it go quicker?"

"Well, let's just wash ourselves," Elijah suggested. "That'll make things go fast, don't you think?"

And for a little while, at least, he seemed to be right. Then, he noticed that Amy was at the point of washing some of her more intimate parts, which gave him pause. He watched her as she gently washed her breasts, inner thighs, and between her legs with the wash cloth, not even pausing when she realized he was looking. Instead, she just smiled.

"Are you gonna stand there holding that wash cloth?" She asked, pointing to the one in his hand. "Or are you actually going to use it?"

"Right," Elijah nodded and began scrubbing himself. "Washing myself off, that's what I'm doing…"

"That's not where I would have started if I were you," she remarked while looking him over. "I would have begun a little lower." She carefully made her way across the shower, took the wash cloth from his hand, and slowly worked it down his shaft, applying gentle pressure as he closed his eyes and tried to just think of it as being washed, and not being pleasured by his beautiful sister-in-law.

After he climaxed and Amy had to hold onto him to keep him from slipping, they quickly washed their hair and then got out of the shower. Amy dried them both off with her magic and then they dressed.

"That was…that was interesting," Elijah remarked as Amy helped him with his tie.

"It might be good if we shower separately from now on," Amy told him. "At least when you have to go to school in the morning, that is. Want me to zap you there before I head to the Council building?"

"Would you, please?" Elijah asked. "You've already done so much for me that I would hate to further impose, but…"

"No problem at all," Amy assured him before zapping him to school and then going to work herself and trying not to focus on work, not what they'd done that morning in the shower.


	39. Looking For A New Love

When Selina woke up later, she noticed an empty space on the mattress beside her. Curious, she got out of bed and put on one of his shirts that was hanging over a chair along with her panties, then left the room, looking for him. She found him after passing by the open door of what seemed to be his office. He was sitting at his desk and staring out the door with a smirk on his face and his hands under his chin.

"Sorry if I'm disturbing," she remarked with a blush as she reached for the doorknob to close it behind her. "If you're busy, I can always come back later."

"No," He shook his head and pushed his chair back, feeling stunned cause he'd thought the look on his face would be enough to signal her that it was okay to come and join him when she was ready. "Come here. What would make you think that you can't come in when the door is open?"

"You're right," Selina nodded. "I'm so used to having an office be a private space that I need to be invited into that I thought you would feel the same as Elijah used to." She looked around and cleared her throat. "Where will I sit?" She asked, her eyes sparkling. "I only see one chair."

"Well, you get to sit on my lap," Dorian smiled and patted his knee. "Get over here, please! You have two seconds before I come over there and carry you."

"Oh, all right," Selina grinned. "Since you said 'please', I guess I have no other choice. Not that I would want one."

He kissed her then and said, "I hope you weren't alarmed when you woke up and didn't find me next to you."

"No," Selina shook her head and then began kissing Dorian's neck. "I wasn't worried. I knew you had to be here somewhere."

They began to make out in his chair, their kissing turning wild as she played with his hair and he undid the buttons on her shirt and ran his hands up her bare thigh. This went on until they pulled apart to catch their breaths and Selina's eye caught sight of the clock on the wall across from his desk.

"Damn, I gotta get to work!" She got up off his lap and ran for the door. He thought she would leave, but she turned around and gave him a sly smile. "Or, you know, I could just call work and tell them I won't be in today. That would be nice, don't you think?"

"Yes, it would, but you shouldn't be skipping work, that's not good!" He chided and gave her a spanking. "Go put on your clothes and go to work. It won't last forever. I'll see you again soon."

"Fine, I'll go to stupid work," she sighed. "Whatever."

But before she left, he put a hand on her shoulder. "I know you brought some clothes with you, but if you'd like something a bit newer and different, check my closet. I think you may like what you'll find."

Curious, Selina went to look in his closet and found one side overflowing with things that were her style: brightly colored dresses, jeans, skirts, tennis shoes, peek-boo stilettos-more clothes than she could possibly wear in one life time. But she would certainly try, that was for sure. She picked a blue and white backless halter dress with a geometric print, put on a denim jacket (because of the air conditioning) and some red kitten heels with bows on the toes on her feet (they didn't match exactly, but were prettier than the blue shoes that were in reach so what the hell?), grabbed her purse, and made a mental note to thank Dorian profusely when she got home. She started to head for her car, but realized she hadn't brought it.

"Need a ride, Miss?" Asked the driver from the night before.

"Yeah, I…I gotta go to work," Selina replied and got in the backseat when he opened the door. She gave him the address for the school, trying not to think about how odd it was to be riding a limo to work instead of her pink bug. That was another thing she'd have to remember to do. Get her car out of Roxie's parking lot. She took a note pad out of her purse and wrote it down. "Go see Roxie and get car out of parking lot." Nodding with satisfaction, she then put the pad back in her purse and stretched out. This was nice. She could get used to it.

* * *

She could also get used to the crowd that formed as the limo drove through the parking lot and everyone gathered to stare. She got out and posed for a few seconds, then cleared her throat, thanked the driver, and headed inside to start the day.

"Selina," Elijah inclined his head as she stood in the doorway of his classroom after second period. "What are you doing here?"

"I just hate the idea of us tiptoeing around this whole situation," Selina told him. "I thought I would come and say 'Hello', and ask how you're doing before everything gets awkward and all we do is avoid each other. How are you?"

"Good," Elijah nodded. "You? You must be doing well. I heard you made quite an entrance today."

"Not bad," Selina told him. "If you have some stuff of mine you want out of your house, here's my new address." She wrote it down for him and handed it to him.

"All right, I'll make a note of that," Elijah nodded. "Good to know. I'm pleased to see you've moved on." He looked her over. "That dress is new," he remarked. "You look good."

"Thank you," Selina smiled. "I got it from my-" She stopped. "I mean, it's new. It's the first time I've worn it." She paused. "Anything new in your life? You're not too lonely without me, are you?"

"Of course I miss you," Elijah told her. "In a sense. But Amy and Klaus had a fight, so I let her come and stay with me. It's showing me a side of her I've never seen before. I find it very attractive."

"Oh," Selina nodded and put a hand on her gut cause it felt like she'd been punched. "That's good. I'm happy for you."

"Thank you," Elijah nodded. "It's so nice to know that in spite of what happened, we can still be civil to one another."

"Well, we'll need to put up a united front when we finally get around to telling the kids what happened," Selina nodded. But she avoided his eyes. "You…you haven't told any of them yet, have you? Cause…I would like to be present when you do."

"Of course," Elijah nodded. "I've said nothing yet and I won't until we both can."

"Thank you," Selina nodded. "I…I have to go now. Please remember to send me my chair instead of just throwing it away." She ran off then and locked herself in her classroom, glad it was an off period for her so she could be alone for a while and no one would see her cry. Then, when she had filled her waste basket with tissues and caught a breath, she called Dorian and asked if he would come pick her up from school in his car cause she didn't want to be alone with her thoughts in a limo.

"I'll tell you more when you pick me up," she said. "Will you come, please?"

"Of course," Dorian replied, his voice full of concern as he wondered who he'd have to kill. "I'll be there, don't worry."

"Thank you," Selina sniffled. "Goodbye, Dorian."

"Goodbye, darling," he replied, then heard the sound of her ending the call.

"Darling?" He cried as he shook his phone. "Darling, are you all right?" He got no response, so he sat down at his desk chair and rubbed his eyes. She sounded so sad that he probably wouldn't be able to go the rest of the day without worrying until he went to pick her up and finally had the chance to make her feel better in person.

* * *

"What's the matter?" Dorian asked as he met Selina in the parking lot by his car after school, pulling her close to himself and holding her tight. "Why did you tell me that you didn't want to come home by yourself?"

"Do you really want to hear?" Selina asked. "After I called you, I realized that you might not want to. It involves Elijah."

Dorian sighed and took her in his arms in the parking lot for a moment before helping her into the car. "What happened?" He asked.

"He's already moved on," she sniffled, some tears trickling down her cheeks. " _With my sister-in-law!_ Can you believe that?"

"Should I be worried?" Dorian asked. "Are you upset because you want him back?"

"No, but it's polite to grieve a relationship, you know?" Selina huffed and wiped her eyes. "If someone meant something to you, you shouldn't just be able to move on right away."

"I personally think that you and your ex-husband's ability to move on is a very healthy thing," Dorian replied. Then he turned her to face him. "Do you want me?" He asked.

"Yes," Selina nodded. "Of course. I'm just…anything I say about Elijah now is a result of shock. Not longing. I'm learning that there isn't anyone else for me besides you."

"Oh, that's wonderful," Dorian told her. "What do you say we go home and celebrate this?"

"Do I need to guess how?" Selina smiled.

"No," Dorian shook his head, pulled her to him, and slipped a hand under her blouse. "Not really."

He took off his suit jacket and unbuttoned his shirt before helping her slip off her own jacket and undoing the tie of her halter dress. They made out in the car for a little while, running their hands over each other's bodies before Dorian finally paused. "I can't do it here," he told her. "I can't just make love to you in a parking lot. It would be so much more comfortable to do it at home, wouldn't you say?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "I would."

They fixed up their clothes and then he drove her home, where they continued what they were doing on the living room sofa.

As he pushed up her skirt and slipped off her panties, he told her, "I'm so sorry for what you had to go through today."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Selina replied, then moaned as he pushed into her over and over while she kissed his neck. "I mean, I was upset at first, but not anymore, now that I've had time to think about it."

"Really?" he panted as he got off her, put his boxers on again, and sat next to her on the sofa. "Not that I care too much, but why doesn't it bother you anymore?"

"Because I have _you_ and I don't ever want us to be separated," Selina replied, which made him grin widely. "Since I've got you, what the heck do I need him for? If he wants to be happy with Amy, let him be happy with Amy. I don't care."

"Good," Dorian replied and kissed her hair. "That makes me feel a whole lot better."

"There's just one thing though," Selina told him. "I need to have some of my stuff here. Otherwise this isn't gonna feel like home for me, but like practically every living arrangement that I've had my whole life: shuttled from neighbor to neighbor because Mama wanted to keep me out of the clutches of her abusive husband, going into the army, living the bohemian life in Paris…I've not really been used to setting down roots anywhere. I just go to a place and there I am. It's nothing more than a roof over my head. And I'm tired of feeling like that."

"As you should be," Dorian told her. "The second you came through that door, this became just as much your place as it is mine. So of course you can have things here."

"Are you sure you know what you're asking for?" She gave him a little smile as she looked around his very sleek and modern apartment. "Our styles aren't exactly similar."

"It doesn't matter," Dorian's voice was resolute. "I want you to feel like you belong here, whatever that takes."

"Thank you!" Selina smiled and hugged him. "I mean, you might feel differently when my chair comes from Elijah's house, but thank you!"

"You're welcome," he said and kissed her. "You might be trying to frighten me, but it will take more than a chair to make me scared."

"Good," Selina nodded and laid her head against his chest as he stroked her hair. "I like that."

* * *

"Elijah."

Elijah froze at the sound of Amy's voice. He didn't turn his desk chair to face the door where she stood, but asked, "What can I do for you?"

"I was visiting with Vivi and she said that you and Selina talked yesterday," Amy advanced toward his desk. "I'm sorry. Was it hard? What does it mean for _us_?"

"Nothing," Elijah told her as he finally turned his chair around, gasping when he saw that she wore light blue peep toe pumps, a matching blouse and a white skirt with a split in it.

"Do they really allow you to dress like that at work?" He asked, rubbing his eyes to make sure they weren't playing tricks on him.

"No, I fixed it in the hallway," Amy replied and sat on his lap, running his fingers through his hair. "It looks like you're not busy. Why don't we spend some time together?"

He pushed her off his lap and Amy was let down until she realized it was so he could get up and lock the door before he gave her a wink, and then strode back to her and pulled her close.

"I don't have much time," he whispered in her ear before nibbling on the lobe and pulling her close from behind. "Just an hour. What do you want to do?"

"I could do whatever you want," Amy giggled. "But aren't you worried about getting caught?"

Elijah then picked her up and set her down on his desk. "Why do you think I locked the door?" He questioned with a grin.

Amy put her hands on either side of his face and kissed him as he slid her skirt up and slipped off her underwear before lowering her back onto his desk.

"I know this isn't how either of us would prefer it," He told her. "But we need to make do with what we can get, don't we?"

"Yes," Amy nodded. "We'll make up for it later."

Elijah then decided to pull her up to sit and then picked her up, bracing her against the wall as she steadied herself by throwing her arms around his neck.

"Good," she muttered. "Good. Oh, yes…" It was hard to get out more concrete thoughts as he pushed into her over and over.

Eventually the doorknob rattled and they quickly fixed their clothes.

"Just a minute!" Elijah called as he led Amy to the door and hoped the person on the other side wasn't Vivi. "I'm coming!"

He let out a breath when he saw it was just some of his students, told Amy goodbye, and then spend the rest of the day wishing it was night so he could be with her again.


	40. Caught In A Delicate Situation

Continuing the pattern, it was Dorian who woke up first in the morning. He sat up in bed and pushed his dark hair out of his eyes, then turned to have a look at Selina, who was still sound asleep, curled up under the covers that were pulled up to her chin, her dark hair splayed over the white pillowcase. He kissed her cheek and then left her a note on his pillow, telling her he was in the kitchen and thinking about breakfast. He then put on some black silk pajama pants and headed in that direction.

It was the sound of him looking for pots and pans that finally roused Selina from sleep. She got out of bed, put on another one of his shirts (a black one with white buttons down the front), and then tiptoed into the kitchen. He was squatting in front of one of the cabinets with his back to her, and she allowed herself time to appreciate the view before she sneakily tiptoed behind him and leaned down to kiss his neck.

"Well, well, well," He stood up, turned around, and smiled, taking her in his arms. "Good morning. I was feeling like eggs benedict this morning. What about you?"

"I could go for it," Selina replied and stepped away to gather things out of the refrigerator. "I can have it done quick, I promise."

"No, no," He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her away from the refrigerator. "I was going to make it myself. You don't have to." He paused as she stared, eyes wide with surprise. "But if you'd like to help," he added, "of course I wouldn't refuse you."

Selina grinned. "Good, because I think I cook pretty well. _And_ I have a habit of not just being able to sit in another room while there's cooking going on. Elijah and I would go on vacations sometimes and I would unintentionally get in fights with the chefs at his houses because they had their way of cooking and I wanted to take over cause I was so used to it at our house."

Dorian nibbled on her earlobe. "Well, I promise I'm much more flexible."

"Good," Selina smiled. "Now, eggs benedict, you said? That's really rich. I'm not complaining, it's just an observation."

"Well, I thought we could use something decadent after all the 'working out' we do," Dorian winked.

Selina nodded. "I agree. It has been such a long time since I ate that. I'm looking forward to it. Which part do you want to work with? Or parts?"

"How about I take the sauce and the muffins and you take the eggs and the ham?" Dorian suggested.

"Sounds good," Selina nodded.

They then set to work, thinking that the food would be done in a timely manner, but of course they had to pause and kiss every once in a while so the danger of something burning always loomed and by the time everything was settled neatly on a plate, they were both starving.

Selina headed for the table and Dorian told her, "We could eat it there, but I think that eating in bed would be more relaxing, don't you?"

"Oh, yes," Selina nodded. "I thought about that, but I was worried about getting egg and hollandaise all over the sheets on your bed."

"The sheets on _our_ bed will be fine if they get some stains on them," Dorian assured her.

"Are you sure?" Selina questioned, the thought of hollandaise on silk being absolutely horrifying.

"Yes," Dorian nodded. "Don't think I don't know a thing or two about how to get stains out of silk. It'll be fine, I promise."

"All right," Selina nodded. They headed to the bedroom and Selina climbed into bed first while Dorian stood and waited with the breakfast tray, then handed it to her and climbed into bed himself.

As they ate, Dorian asked, "Is there anything I can do so that you feel more like this bed is yours? Like this apartment is yours? I know you mentioned something about bringing in a chair from your ex's house, but is that enough?"

Selina smiled. "I think I can leave the bed alone, but… _could_ I do a little redecorating? Would you mind? It won't be too extreme, I promise."

"Whatever you need to do so that you really feel this is your home is all right with me," Dorian repeated. "Frankly, I'll be interested to see how much character this place will have afterward."

"Oh, it will have character, believe me!" Selina smiled as he kissed her cheek. They continued eating and then, when both plates were in the kitchen sink, Dorian came back and spoke as he got out a suit.

"I have to go visit someone today," he told her. "It's very important that I do it and I held off as long as I could. I thought it would be a good time to do it while you were otherwise occupied. I'll be back by the time you get home from work, though."

"It's Saturday," Selina said. "I don't have work. But you do what you need to do and I'll work on design ideas." She paused and then asked, "Who do you need to see?" Then she quickly shook her head. blushing a light pink. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. It's none of my business."

"I don't have any secrets from you," Dorian told her. "I just need to go check on my son. I've held it off long enough, but I need to ease my mind and see what he's getting himself into."

"It's so nice that you keep in touch with your children," Selina smiled. "What's he like?"

"He's one of the stronger willed ones," Dorian told her. "We've butted heads a lot over the years. He looks like me, though. Dark hair, dark eyes…and he recently took a half-demon girl for a wife."

"Oh, I know what that's like," Selina nodded. "My mother and I have always been the same way. Don't be too hard on him, will you?" She paused. "Wait a minute…your son looks like you, is a demon, and took a half-demon girl for a wife? His name wouldn't be Eric, would it? Cause he's been causing all sorts of trouble lately."

"Actually, I'm going to _praise_ him not to scold him because I heard he's finally found something worthwhile and productive to do with himself," Dorian assured her. "But I'll keep what you say in mind. And thank you for telling me how much trouble he's causing. That's so good to hear."

"Good," Selina nodded. "Don't say anything that you can't easily take back." She then asked, "Why is it good that he's causing trouble? I don't understand!"

"I won't be harsh with him anymore," Dorian assured her with one last kiss. "I promise. As for the rest of it, the things about me and my world…I promise you'll know them. But it's not the right time now, okay? I hope you understand."

"I do," Selina nodded. "Have a good visit with your son! I hope things go well between you two!"

* * *

When Dorian appeared in front of the hideaway house where Sophia and Eric were living, he didn't even bother to ring the doorbell. He forced the door open and made his way inside. He knew his son was inside and he didn't have the patience to spend a lot of time looking for him. He asked a maid, and after a conversation with the head housekeeper that told him much about Eric and Sophia's relationship and habits, (including information about Sophia and some certain pills), she pointed down a hallway, indicating that's where they were. When he passed by a door that had lots of talking and giggling coming from behind it, he opened the door and was met with cries and shrieks as both Eric and Sophia tried to cover themselves up.

"Father!" Eric cried. "What are you doing here? When did you take a human form? Why didn't you knock?"

Dorian ignored Eric for the moment, but apologized to Sophia, who was sitting beside his son and looking surprised as she covered herself with a sheet. "I'm sorry for the intrusion," he told her. "But I need to have a word with my son. Would you mind? It will only take a minute. I'm Dorian, by the way." He came over to the bed, smiled, and kissed Sophia's hand.

"Okay, you can have time with your son," Sophia agreed after introducing herself. "But you both have to shut your eyes while I dress."

"Of course," Dorian nodded.

They averted their eyes while Sophia dressed and then she left the room in search of food.

"Nice girl," Dorian commented. "Shame you'll never have children with her, though."

"What do you mean?" Eric asked. "She told me that we would! It's not just because I find her so attractive that I spend so much time in bed with her."

"She _must've_ lied because the housekeeper told me she's taking pills to prevent herself from getting pregnant," Dorian told him. "You didn't know this?"

"No," Eric shook his head. "Not at all. But it explains why she hasn't conceived yet after all the effort we've put into it."

"This could be problematic," Dorian told him. "Do you really want to be with a woman who sabotages your plans like this? The first time you've ever come up with something worthwhile to give yourself acclaim in your family, the first time it really seems like you've done something to meet your true potential, and you can't trust the woman sharing your bed. You should talk with her."

"Oh, you better believe I will," Eric nodded. "Is that why you suddenly are taking interest in my life?" He continued. "Are you planning to take my plan and turn it into something that you're gonna take credit for?" Eric asked. "Cause if that's your plan, you can just get out of my sight!"

"No, I'm not!" Dorian shook his head and grabbed Eric's shoulders. "I told you that I came to tell you how proud I am about the initiative you're taking and I mean it. I'm telling you what I am because I don't want to see all the work and planning you've done come to nothing because the woman you've chosen is stubborn. I know you probably don't believe me. You don't have to. But I want to tell you anyway and you can do with it what you will."

"All right," Eric nodded. "Thanks, I guess. Do you have any other information I need to know?"

"Nothing as important as the things about the pills," Dorian assured him. "I'll let you sort that out now. Would you mind if I had a look around this place? It's been awhile since I've visited."

"Go ahead," Eric told him. "I hope you like it. But I've been thinking of making some changes."

"Well, isn't that nice?" Dorian smiled. "Maybe you and the new woman I've taken to my heart can discuss decorating plans at some point."

Eric's jaw dropped. "You have a new girlfriend?" He asked. "Who is she? What's she like?"

Dorian shook his head. "You'll find out in due time," he assured him. "But now, I think you need to have a talk with Sophia."

* * *

"We need to talk!" Eric demanded of Sophia and stole away the muffin she was eating.

"Hey, give that back!" Sophia reached out. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I could ask you the same question," Eric snapped and dropped the muffin on the floor, stomping on it out of pure spite. "Why did you lie to me?"

"I didn't lie to you!" Sophia cried. "What would make you think I did?"

They were both breathing hard, their demon faces visible, her red eyes boring into the holes where his eyes should have been.

"Father told me that a maid said you're taking pills to prevent a pregnancy," Eric spat. "Why would you do that? Do you not want to have my children?"

"Of course I do!" Sophia nodded. "But…but can't I have time? Can't I just enjoy being with you before we have to devote so much of our energies to a child and don't have time to just be together?"

"We can still be together after we have children," Eric assured her, taking her hand. "That's what nannies are for."

"No," Sophia shook her head. "I won't expend a bunch of effort giving birth to a child and then just dump them on a nanny. I won't. Not even for you, Eric."

"My father is right!" Eric cried. "You _are_ trying to sabotage everything I'm working for!"

"I'm not, but I refuse to be just a vessel for your children," Sophia told him. "I love you and I would like to think that you hold me in just as high esteem as I hold you. Am I wrong? Am I really nothing but an incubator for you and this is your way of telling me?"

"No!" Eric shook his head, so incensed that he completely missed her confession. "It's not. Are you…you're being stupid!" He picked her up, carried her to his bed, and tied her to it. "Where are the pills?" He demanded. "Tell me right now."

"I won't!" Sophia shook her head. "You're just gonna throw them away. You don't need to do that. I _want_ to have your babies, Eric."

"Tell me when," Eric snarled, getting right in her face. "Now? A month from now? A year? I don't know if I can wait."

"If you want us to have an unbelievable shitty relationship from here on out, you can trash my pills and get me pregnant before I'm ready," Sophia faced him. "But if you'll just give me…two weeks to prepare myself, after that, I'll get off them and you could be a father at any time. Is that fair?"

"Is it honest?" Eric questioned. "Is it a lie?"

"It's not, but if you won't believe it, that's your problem, not mine," Sophia replied firmly as she struggled to free herself from the restraints that kept her on the bed as Eric glared at her, left the room, and shut the door behind him.


	41. Time To Change Sides

"Oh, it won't be so bad!" Gwen told Mikael as she parked their car in Elijah's driveway. "You are a grown man and can handle talking to Selina for an hour."

"Can I?" Mikael leaned forward and ran his finger down her neck. "How will I be rewarded for that, Gwendolyn?"

"Would you stop?" Gwen pushed his hand away. "You don't need to be rewarded like a child every time you have to act like a grown up."

"Well, in my defense," Mikael pointed out as they made their way to the front door. "This is the only time I act in a way that would be thought of as childish." He knocked on the door and Amy answered it.

"Oh, damn!" Mikael huffed. "I have to deal with Niklaus too." He then smiled at Amy. "Unless, by some miracle, it's just you and Elijah here to talk about the demons with us?"

"If you'll come inside, we'll explain that," Amy told him.

Mikael was suspicious as he got inside the house, calling Klaus and Selina's names and looking under chairs, sofas and beds, behind doors, not missing a single nook and cranny.

"All right," Mikael confronted Elijah when he came to greet them. "Where are you hiding them? If I have to be civil to Niklaus and that woman, get them out here so I can do it."

"Actually, neither of them are here," Elijah got out. "Don't cheer too loudly, but…Selina and I aren't together anymore."

"Yes," Amy nodded. "And I'm not with Klaus, either."

"You…what?" Mikael asked, looking back and forth between them and feeling completely dumbstruck. "You two have finally come to your senses and gotten those two out of our lives?"

"Well, you know that will never be the case with Niklaus, yes, Selina and I have finally reached a point where we can't be together anymore," Elijah nodded. "I never believed what you said about her being a problem until just recently, so that's what made me more amenable to the decision."

"Is it because you lost your powers?" Gwen put her hands on her hips. "I can't believe you threw away a good relationship because Selina was more powerful than you for a period of time."

"Oh, will you be quiet and stop ruining this wonderful moment for me, Gwendolyn?" Mikael asked. "Do you know how long I've waited for this day?"

"Yes, because you never stop talking about it," Gwen nodded. Then she just scoffed at Elijah. "I really don't believe this. I never pegged you as being as childish as your father, but it's interesting that given this power change, he and I managed to stay together while you and Selina separated." She paused. "If the reason was because she was finally unwilling to be completely under your control and you refused to see her as an equal, then maybe your separation was a good idea."

"Yes!" Mikael grinned, actually hugging Elijah, the first hug he ever remembered receiving from his father. "It was a _wonderful_ idea, son. I'm very proud of you." He looked fondly at Amy. "Now you can pursue a relationship with a woman who's much better for you."

"I agree," Elijah nodded and put an arm around Amy, pulling her close. "And I'm looking forward to it. Just as soon as I rid this house of every bit of Selina it has in it. Including that chair." He looked at the pink recliner that was sitting in the corner gathering dust and shuddered. He needed to call movers, and he needed to call them quick.

* * *

While Mikael and Gwen dealt with demons in a literal sense, Kol, Margot, Regina, and Declan were helping Victoria and Kai with a more figurative little demon: their daughter, Lydia. Even though she was quite small, she was still a handful for her parents, even though they were experienced with darkness.

"Okay," Victoria yawned as she dragged herself out of the baby's bedroom, collapsing into Kai's arms and nearly falling asleep. "Now that I've finally got her quiet, who has the first round tonight, because we know the peace won't last."

"Oh, I do," Kai told her. "I just don't understand why she's like this. Do you? Is it normal?"

"No, it's not," Regina shook her head. "Or at least I hope not. The twins weren't this noisy and needy if I remember correctly, and there were _two_ of them! But it was part of that bargain with John that you were able to conceive again, right?"

Kai and Victoria nodded.

"Well," Regina shrugged. "Maybe all the early magic and the not being able to be quiet and running us all ragged is just part of the bargain."

"Maybe," Victoria nodded, looking slightly more awake as she lifted her head off Kai's shoulder. "But she's still our child and we need to show her she's loved….no matter how much life she sucks out of us."

"What a nice sentiment," Kai kissed her hair as Lydia began to cry. "Okay, Regina: her highness calls. You're up." He paused and then said, "No wait. Maybe I'll go. Is that all right? I know it isn't my turn, but maybe…maybe it might help."

"Whatever you want," Regina nodded. "Good luck!"

So Kai strode into his daughter's room, approaching her crib as she shrieked, her body wracked with pain or some other misery cause what else would make her cry so much? He tried to pick her up and comfort her, but every time he made a grab for her, she would just move out of the way. Finally, he decided to stop trying to pick her up, and just put a hand on her belly to hold her still and talked to her.

"I don't know what's going on with you, Lydia," he remarked, trying to be calm and comforting. "But it doesn't scare us. Your mother and I and your grandparents just want to get to know you and how can we do that if you're cranky all the time?"

It had worked! He had distracted her long enough that she'd stopped screaming her head off and was now just watching him carefully.

He waited to see if it was just a trick, but after a while of just being studied, he took a gamble and picked her up.

"Don't you freak out on me," Kai warned as he held her close and brought her out of the room to everyone else, who looked at him in amazement.

"What in the world did you do to make her so calm?" Victoria asked in amazement.

Kai just smiled. "She's a lot like you, Vicky. It's amazing what a belly rub and some calm conversation will do."

"All the same," Kai looked at Lydia intently. "Do you think there's something evil in her?"

"Kol!" Margot whispered angrily. "Don't ask that about a baby! A couple of nights of crying does not mean evil!"

Kol shrugged. "I don't necessarily mean it as a bad thing. I just wonder so that if that's the case, we can have a better idea of what we're up against. And do you really think that her having darkness is a bad thing in this family? She's in good company."

"Of course," Declan smiled. "Her grandpa Kol will be heading the welcome committee."

"Yes, I will," Kol nodded, not offended at all. "Was that meant to be an insult?"

"No," Regina said to her father, fearful that a fight might break out. "Declan was just teasing or meant it as a compliment." She eyed her husband. " _Right_?"

"Yes," Declan nodded, a small smirk on his lips and his blue eyes twinkling. "Of course."

"Good," Regina replied. "What do you say we use this period of calm to get what sleep we can before the next storm hits?"

"You do that," Kai agreed. "You all go to bed. I'll stay up with her."

"Are you sure?" Victoria asked.

"Yes," Kai insisted. "Go to sleep, Vicky. I insist."

Victoria hesitated, but then finally decided that she needed the rest, kissed both Kai and her daughter goodnight, and scurried off to sleep just like everyone else.

* * *

"You have _no_ idea how relieved I am to get this chair out of my house," Elijah told the moving men as they got Selina's old pink recliner out of the truck and brought it into Dorian's building, onto the elevator, and up to the penthouse. "It's just…it throws everything off, but since Selina needed to feel like she belonged, I let her have it. I only hope that the man she's living with can tolerate it more than I could." He knocked on the door, and his eyes widened when Dorian opened it and not Selina.

"Hello," Dorian greeted, his voice pleasant. "I see you've brought Selina's chair. Come on in. We have the perfect place for it. Lovely day today, isn't it? I hope that accident on the freeway didn't slow you down."

To Elijah's surprise, the place was right out in the open, even though it clashed magnificently with the modern look of the rest of the apartment.

"Are you sure you want it here?" Elijah asked in disbelief. "Where everyone can see it?"

"You don't look like a mover," Dorian glared at him and crossed his arms. "You must be Elijah. If this is how dismissive you are of a chair that clearly means a lot to her, I don't want to hear how badly you treated Selina herself."

"That's not very polite," Elijah said through his teeth.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Dorian replied sarcastically as he gave Elijah a good, hard push so that he landed hard on his bottom. "Do you want me to offer you tea and cookies before I insult you? Would that be better manners?"

As Elijah got to his feet, some of his displaced hair hanging in his eyes, and breathing hard, he grunted and pushed Dorian back, but to his surprise, it was like pushing a brick wall. The man didn't even move an inch. He tried a few more times before Dorian asked, "Are you done? Has it not yet occurred to you that nothing you can do will hurt me?"

"Oh, I'm sure that's not true!" Elijah replied. "I'm sure there's a way and I intend to find it!"

Just because he sensed that Elijah wouldn't go away until he was able to at least have _some_ sort of fight, Dorian let him punch him in the face, which led to a huge fight, overturned furniture, and bleeding and bruising on both men. And it was in the middle of all this that Selina returned home from a visit to Anna to tell her that everything was all right and she was happy.

She came through the door, saw the destruction and the bloody and bruised men, and then noticed her chair. "Oh, my god!" She cried, her eyes lighting up as she ran through the apartment, her heels clacking on the floor, before reaching the chair and throwing herself into it, hugging what she could with a smile on her face. "I'm so happy!"

"Excuse me, we're fighting here!" Elijah cried. "Do you mind?"

"Of course not. Beat the crap out of each other for all I care," Selina told him. "I just didn't want to interrupt." She then sat in the chair with her legs dangling over one armrest, watching with an amused smile as Dorian pummeled Elijah into jelly because he was clearly the stronger of the two, being a demon and all. And Dorian's demon face was showing clearly, so he must be _really_ mad. She didn't know precisely why they were fighting, but she had a feeling it was something to do with her.

"Had enough?" The demon asked the bruised and battered Original. "Will you go peacefully?"

"Oh, fine!" Elijah huffed, limping toward the door, then paused as he glared at his very-soon-to-be-ex-wife. "Good luck and good riddance, you demon-loving traitor! I hope you realize that by siding with him, you're going to destroy the lives of people who have been good to you for so long."

"You too!" Selina called after him, undisturbed because there was no way he was going to make her feel guilty. "Have a good life with Amy! I won't miss you!"

* * *

But once he and the stunned movers had left and she'd had time to cool off, Selina began to feel that as much as an ass as Elijah had turned into since their breakup, he had something of a point.

She went into Dorian's office and sat down in another chair that he must've brought in for the rare occasion that she didn't want to sit on his lap, opening her mouth to start speaking. But before she could say anything, Dorian cut her off apologetically, speaking over the ice that he had on his face to lower the swelling.

"I'm sorry about my behavior today," he said. "It was the silliest thing that started it. He was speaking badly about your chair, and it seems like so much a part of you that I got to thinking that he treated you just as badly and the thought of it wasn't something I could bear, so when he gave me that first push, I just…" He shook his head and sat back in his chair, repeating, "I'm sorry." He fluffed his black suit jacket and peered at her. "Now that I've finished interrupting, what did you come to say?"

"Well, the first thing is that I don't blame you for giving Elijah a good, hard punch," Selina assured him. "He looked like he was spoiling for a fight, so it wasn't unreasonable to give him one. And I really enjoyed watching it. However, he brought up something that I think needs to be addressed before you and I go much further into this thing that we're doing."

"Yes?" Dorian asked, a little worried because he'd never seen her be so serious before. "What is it?"

"What's the plan for all this?" Selina questioned. "I know that part of the plan, maybe the _whole_ plan, is fighting against the Original family and bringing them to ruin. Now, did you know Anna was one of them when you befriended her? You _must've_ known. I don't see you letting something like that just be by chance."

Dorian sighed. He'd wanted to wait a little longer to have this conversation since they'd been getting along so well and this would only ruin it, but since she'd come out with it, he had no other choice. "Yes," he confessed, taking the ice off his eye. "I knew who and what she was when I befriended her. I needed to have a connection to them so it would be easier to find out what their weaknesses were. I wasn't just going to rush in totally ignorant about my enemy."

"All right," Selina crossed her arms and raised her chin, her eyes surprisingly cold. "Did you know that I was an Original's wife the night we met? Did you look at me and see another weakness to exploit? Am I just a means to an end for you? Cause I won't be that. I won't!"

"And you aren't!" Dorian tried to assure her. "I confess I knew about Anna, but I had no idea about you. You were completely new to me. You had no part in anything I was going to do, and you still don't! All Anna told me the night we met was that she was bringing a friend to see me. She didn't say 'sister-in-law'. Maybe she thought I'd be less receptive to the meeting if I knew ahead of time that you were already attached. Then I saw you and, well…you know what happened after that: I fell in love with you. I wanted you just for me, not for my plans, and especially not as any sort of cannon fodder in this war. Please believe me!"

"Why even have a war in the first place?" Selina asked. "Why can't you just let Anna and her family be?"

"Because they're against us!" Dorian leaned forward and got as close to her face as he could. "You understand the idea of war, don't you? The idea of kill or be killed? It's either them or us, and I would not be a good leader if I didn't do all I could to protect demonkind!"

"I understand that," Selina nodded. "I'm not an idiot. But where does that put me? If I side with you, I—I'm going to have to kill or be party to the killing of the fathers of most of my children, my friends…the people who have made up my family for years! And I…I've had so little experience with family that the thought of it pains me."

"I realize that," Dorian nodded. "But you have to pick a side to be loyal to. Your idiot husband was right about that. No flitting back and forth. And you made the right choice, coming to me."

"What?" Selina asked. "I didn't make _any_ choice! You didn't make me aware of _any_ of this before I moved in with you. If you had, maybe I would have thought about it a bit more!"

"So you _don't_ pick me?" Dorian asked, his dark eyes boring into her blue ones without blinking. "You're siding against me?"

"Damn you!" Selina yelled and stomped her foot after rising to her feet, sounding like she was about to cry as she spoke. "Don't do this to me! It's too much!" She stomped out of the room, and came back with some of his shirts in hand, along with a pillow from her side of the bed, and said, "I'm gonna move into one of the other bedrooms before you piss me off so much I do something we're both gonna regret. I hope you're proud of yourself." She started to head toward the door again, but Dorian ran and grabbed her.

"This is nonsense!" He spat, picking her up and putting her over his shoulder. "You're not sleeping in any guest bedroom tonight. You already have a room and there's no need to move." He began walking toward their bedroom as Selina growled and hit him on the back with her fist and the pillow that had the shirts in the case. He got her in the room and dumped her on the bed. "Now, have you finished your tantrum? It will get you nowhere."

"Oh, and you think _your_ attitude will?" Selina spat. "You know, for all your bragging about how much better you are for me than Elijah, you're not much different from him. He'd carry me over his shoulder when I wouldn't let him have his way too cause it made him feel better to demonstrate dominance over me than admit he lost."

It was that that made Dorian grab her, hold her tight, and kiss her deeply. "I know you don't mean that," he whispered. "I know you just said that to hurt me." He then locked eyes with her. " _Did_ you mean that? If you did, then I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"Thank you," Selina nodded and kissed him. "Thank you very much." She paused. "I mean you can do it _sometimes_ , cause it's a bit of a turn on. Just not when we're fighting and you want the upper hand."

"Ah," Dorian nodded and blew in her ear. "So if we were, say, wanting to do something involving _this_ ," He pushed up her skirt, slipped off her panties and rubbed her, "And I wanted to move you from one place to another, I could put you over my shoulder, give you a good spanking, and that would be okay."

"Yes," Selina nodded, a giggle escaping her lips. "That would be very good. I would like that." She undid the tie that let down the top of her halter dress, showing her bra. "A little help?" She asked.

Dorian paused rubbing her to help her off with her bra, then when it was off and flung in a corner of the room, he leaned down and gently sucked on her nipples while continuing to rub her.

"Oh," Selina shut her eyes. "Oh, god, that's _good_!" She climaxed and the Dorian pulled her up and kissed her deeply.

"Would you like a turn now?" She asked in a dazed voice when they pulled apart.

"No, that was my apology to you," Dorian replied and ruffled her hair.

Selina smiled. "Well, that was _some_ apology! We should fight more often."

"Oh, I hope we don't," Dorian told her. "I can't stand it. Just like I can't stand the idea of losing you."

"I don't want to lose you either," Selina assured him. "So what are we gonna do?"

"We'll think of something," Dorian promised as he took her in his arms again. "I swear."


	42. A Demon's Tale

"And what's happened to you?" Amy asked, feeling very alarmed when she saw Elijah's rumpled suit, tousled hair, and beat up face. "Did the car crash?"

"No," Elijah grumbled. "I went to return Selina's chair and was met at the door by her insane new boyfriend! She's dating one of the demons who are trying to kill us! Can you believe her? Her taste in men has obviously gone south!"

"Oh, now really," Amy told him. "If Selina wants to be with a demon that is her choice and not any of our business."

"I suppose, but don't you feel offended that she's siding with people who want me and Klaus, and everyone else in our family dead?" Elijah asked. "Doesn't that bother you?"

"I guess it's a bit unsettling but I'm not going to ruin my relationship with her over it," Amy replied.

"Well, _I'm_ in the mood to ruin things!" Elijah shouted, nudging Amy and the ice away. "I have a phone call to make!"

"Oh, god," Amy ran after him as he snatched his phone out of his pocket, sat on his bed, and dialed his daughter Laura's number.

"Katherine and Laura's salon," greeted a familiar voice. "How can I help you?"

"Katerina, get off the phone!" Elijah barked. "I need to talk to my daughter!"

"Well, she's in the middle of an appointment now, so she can't talk to you," Katherine explained. "A perm. If you lose track of those, they can go horribly wrong. Can I take a message?"

"You tell Laura that her mother and I have chosen to go our separate ways," Elijah replied. "She's now consorting with a man who's plotting to kill us all!"

"Is she?" Katherine asked. "That's a bit daring for her. If you weren't so mad, I would express admiration."

"Just tell Laura," Elijah snapped. "And don't leave anything out!"

"All right, I won't," Katherine promised and then hung up. "Geez, what a grouch!"

"Was that my dad?" Laura asked, turning away from the woman in the chair after putting in the last curler and squirting on the chemicals. "What did he have to say?"

Katherine shook her head. "I don't know if I should tell you," she replied. "It might just make you upset."

"I don't care about that," Laura shook her head. "Tell me. I can handle it."

"Your father says he and your mother have separated and now your mother is living with a man who wants to kill everyone," Katherine told her.

"What?" Laura gasped. Of all the things Katherine could have told her, this was one she wasn't expecting. "Mom and Dad split up and Mom's seeing someone else? But why?"

Katherine shrugged. "I don't know. He didn't say. But if you ask me, with that power difference between them, and your dad getting the shorter end of the stick, it was only a matter of time. You know how your dad hates to be anywhere else but on top."

"Sure, but that's still no reason to end things with him and go be with someone else," Laura replied, snatching up the phone and calling her father back. "I need to know more about this."

When Elijah answered, his voice was gruff, but when he heard Laura's voice, he lightened. "Oh, thank god it's you. I thought it was going to be your mother."

"Yeah, I heard from Katherine that you and Mom have decided to separate," Laura told him. "I'm sorry to hear that. Did she really run off with another man? Does he really want to kill us?"

"He does, I'm afraid," Elijah confirmed. "And I doubt your mother even cares."

"Where does he live? I want to see him," Laura said. "And give Mom a piece of my mind."

"Oh, good!" Elijah smiled to himself on the other end of the line. His plan was now in motion. "And I'm very sorry you had to hear about it this way."

"It's fine," Laura sighed. "And I'm sure Katherine will let Gregory know what's going on. So you can call everyone else."

"Yes, I suppose I'll have to," Elijah agreed. "I'll let you get back to work now, and we'll talk more later."

"All right," Laura remarked. "Bye, Daddy." As she ended the call, Katherine gave her a keen glance. "Are you really just gonna go see your mother?"

"She's ruining our family!" Laura cried. "I can't just let that go! And why are you scolding me? I thought that you of all people would be on my side, seeing as how you glory in making my mother miserable."

"I admit that I get occasional joy from giving your mother trouble," Katherine conceded. "But in this case…maybe you should just let it go. I know about your mother's issues since I caused most of them. I also know that in relationships, your father can be a difficult man to live with. You wouldn't know because you're his daughter, but it might be that your mother was right to want to move on."

"Yes, but with a man who's going to kill all of us?" Laura cried, "That's a stab in the back if I ever heard of one."

"Oh, don't take that at face value," Katherine scoffed. "Your father was probably just being over dramatic. He's like that sometimes."

"Even so," Laura grabbed a pair of scissors and put them in her purse. "I'm still gonna pay Mom a visit tomorrow and have a look at just what she's doing with herself."

"You do that, but don't do anything dumb in the process," Katherine warned.

"I won't," Laura replied. "I'm simply going to show my mother and the man she's ruining our family with that I won't tolerate it. Possibly with brute force. There's nothing wrong with that."

Katherine sighed, glad that their client was under a very loud hair dryer and hadn't heard a word Laura had just said.

* * *

"That is a smug look," Amy remarked when Elijah came back to join her. "Who did you call?"

"Just Laura," Elijah shrugged.

"Oh, why would you do that?" Amy huffed. "Are you trying to turn all your kids against Selina?"

"No, what would make you think that?" Elijah asked.

"Cause I know you," Amy sighed. "This is your way to get back the control you feel you lost when you found out she moved on. You're turning all your kids against Selina and you started with Laura cause of all of them, she's the one you're closest to and the one who's most susceptible to your influence."

"I wouldn't use my children like that," Elijah shook his head. "I just told Laura what was going on and what she chooses to do with that information is up to her."

"You know damn well, what she's gonna do," Amy's eyes flashed. "I can't believe you're encouraging this. I really can't. I got away from your brother and came here because I thought that here I would find sanity and calm, but I guess not." She strode off and Elijah then began to realize that maybe he'd overstepped a little.

"Wait a minute," he said when he saw her with a bunch of bags. "What are you doing?"

"Isn't obvious?" Amy asked. "I'm leaving. Thank you for your hospitality. It's done me a world of good, but if all you're going to do while I live here is cause trouble for one of my closest friends because she dared do something that good for her that made you unhappy for whatever reason, whether it's because you have unresolved feelings for her, or something else, I don't think I can stay here anymore. Your brother taught me what it meant to stand up for myself and the importance of getting out of unhealthy situations, so I'm getting out of this one before it drowns me. Thanks again for the hospitality. I appreciate it."

As she put her hand on the doorknob, a wide-eyed Elijah grabbed her arm. "No, you don't understand!" He protested. "I know it might seem like all of this is about petty retaliation, and I suppose I would be lying if I said none of it was, but at the same time, a lot of it isn't. Not when it comes to how I feel about you." He pulled her way from the door and turned her so that she was facing him, staring into his deep dark eyes that she could easily get lost in. "You…you brought me back to myself," he said. "I'm not the same man when I'm around you. I'm not angry because of any unresolved feelings for Selina; the second she compelled me, those all went away. I'm mad because she betrayed us, and I don't think that's unreasonable!"

"If you're not mad because you still have feelings for Selina, then why did you call your daughter and rat her out like a jealous husband?" Amy demanded, her bags now at her sides, her arms crossed against her chest.

Elijah scoffed. "I'm not going to apologize for that. She deserves it! If she wants to frolic with her ugly monster of a lover (his demon face isn't pretty, let me tell you), she should at least have the decency to face her children and not hide it from them."

"I'm sure she'll be honest and tell them if you give her time," Amy replied. "Forcing it before she's ready is just pure spite on your part."

Elijah sighed. "I wouldn't expect you to understand," he replied stubbornly. "But I…I suppose I could try and…do a better job of minding my own business in the future if only you don't leave me. Please don't. I don't know what I'll do with myself if you do." He took her hand and kissed it, gazing at her with appealing eyes.

"I'm sure you'll find something or someone," Amy pulled her hand away. "You and I both know I'm just a rebound, Elijah."

"No, you're not!" Elijah insisted, positioning himself in front of the door so she couldn't get at the handle. "You're the first woman in a long time who has made me feel okay just being myself. I really do have feelings for you. Let me show you, please?"

"Fine," Amy replied. "But you have to stop what you're doing with Selina. It's not good for either of you."

Elijah knew he wouldn't actually be able to promise that, but if he said so, Amy would leave. So he gritted his teeth, smiled, and promised that from that time on, he would leave Selina alone if only Amy would stay.

"All right," she agreed, after giving him a long look. "I'll stay. Would you help me get my bags back in my room?"

"Of course," Elijah nodded and grabbed two in each hand. "Let's go."

* * *

Early the following morning, an irate Laura parked her car in the parking lot of Dorian's building, got out, strode inside without so much as greeting the doorman, made her way to Dorian's apartment, stabbed the man who was guarding the door with the scissors she had in her purse, letting him bleed out, got the lock to the door undone, strode inside, and then, when she was standing at her mother's bedside, pulled an air horn out of her purse and pressed the button, which sent Selina shooting upward with a shriek.

"Oh, for god's sake!" She clutched at her heart and then glared at her daughter. "Laura, what in the world are you doing here? Do you know what time it is?"

"I couldn't come when everyone was eating their breakfasts," Laura cried. "You would have expected me. And as long as we're talking about what people are doing here, I want the answer from you first: What are you thinking? Why did you leave Daddy?"

"I'm guessing this is your daughter, dear?" Dorian asked in a sleepy voice.

"Yes," Selina nodded. "I would like to introduce to my and Elijah's oldest daughter Laura."

"How do you do?" Dorian asked, more awake now and noticing the startling similarities between mother and daughter. At first he'd thought that Selina had gotten out of bed and was playing a joke on him.

"Not well," Laura snapped, opening and closing the scissors that were still covered with the guard's blood, just as she was. She then hit his hand with the scissors when he reached out to take hers and kiss it.

"Damn!" Dorian cursed as he pulled his hand back.

"That'll teach you to keep your hands off me!" Laura snapped. "Just because my mother lets you touch her everywhere doesn't mean I will."

"I wasn't trying to cause offense," Dorian told her. "I was trying to ingratiate myself to a member of Selina's family because clearly this is a shock for you and your mother and I don't want it to be."

"Yes, really," Selina nodded. "Laura Christina, if you have a problem, _talk to me about it_ like an adult, please. I know you can."

"And how in the world did you get in?" Dorian demanded, zapping himself and Selina into clothes. "I have a man guarding the door."

"Not anymore," Laura shook her head. "I killed him. Stabbed him through the heart with my scissors. Why do you think I'm so bloody?"

Selina froze. "You _killed_ Dorian's guard?"

"Yeah, he was in the way," Laura looked her nails over. "What of it? Dad'll be glad that I did."

"Well, but what's he gonna say at the next full moon when he finds out that thanks to his stupid actions his daughter is a werewolf?" Selina asked. "He threw a fit when it happened to Gregory. I have no doubt it'll be as bad with you."

Laura swallowed nervously. This was something she hadn't thought of. Now it was too late to change course. "Do…do you think he'll never speak to me?" She asked.

"Well, he better since it's somewhat his fault," Selina huffed. "But we'll not talk about that now. Did you just come over here on your father's orders?"

"No, not _just_ because of him," Laura remarked. "I want to say that this whole situation sucks, it's lousy, and I hate it! Couldn't you have thought of the family and not just yourself when you did this?"

"I know that this whole thing is hurtful to you and a bit of a shock, but I won't let you make me feel guilty," Selina told Laura. "What this blow up of your father's has taught me is that we were a lot more dysfunctional than I realized and I owe it to myself to be in a relationship where I'm appreciated for being the person I am, not just because I'm able to become the person your father wants me to be. And if you're worried that the divorce will make me hate you or whatever, it won't." She tried to reach out and hug her daughter. "However I feel about your father, it won't carry over to you or your brothers and sisters."

Laura turned her gaze on Dorian and narrowed her eyes. "Well, that'll be a small comfort when we're all obliterated by your boyfriend here! Say what you want, Mom, but I know it's a lie! You picked him when you should have picked _us_! But you've always sided with whoever keeps your bed warm at night, haven't you? This isn't anything new."

Selina had been able to keep a straight face the entire conversation, but these last words from Laura, the daughter she'd always thought of as being very much like herself, stabbed her as deeply as Laura's scissors had undoubtedly stabbed the poor guard.

"Get out!" She growled, trying to keep the tears in her eyes from falling. "Just get out! You wanna be with your father, go ahead! Go do that and leave me the hell alone!"

"Fine," Laura spat. "I will! You don't have to tell me twice!" She strode out of the room, slamming the door behind her, and when Dorian and Selina were sure she was gone, Selina got out of bed and went to get herself a drink while Dorian got a look at the guard's body and thought about how to dispose of it.

* * *

He later found Selina in the kitchen with a bottle of vodka in hand, chugging it down and sobbing. He put a hand on her shoulder and took the bottle away, setting it on the counter, and hugged her hard, letting her cry into his shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to go through that," he told her. "I assume that was not the way you were hoping to tell your family about us."

"Of course not," Selina sniffled. "Cause I knew they would react _exactly_ like that!" She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "Don't worry, I don't think I'm doing anything wrong. I'm not ashamed, I swear!"

"Thank you," Dorian said. "You think you'll be able to get to sleep after all that?"

"No," Selina shook her head.

So Dorian took her to his office, sat her down at his desk, and plunked a dusty old leather book in front of her.

"What's that?" She coughed as dust flew up.

"That's all the answers to every question about demons you could possibly ask," Dorian told her. "It'll be a good distraction for you."

"Thanks," Selina gave him a small smile. "I appreciate it." Then, before he left, she stopped him once more. "I have one more thing to ask: Did you…did I hear you say that you loved me at one point? Or was that just something that was in my head?"

"I said it," Dorian nodded. "But…but don't feel the need to say it back if you're not ready. I know, based on your past history, that those probably aren't words you use lightly."

"No, but…I have no problem using them with you," Selina assured him with a smile as she threw her arms around his neck and inhaled the scent of his cologne. "I love you too. And not just because you can put up with my crazy daughter and not bat an eye. She's not normally like that, I swear."

"It doesn't matter what she's like," Dorian told her. "I don't want you to have to think about that. I trust you'll find what's in the books much more interesting. If you still want to learn about demons, that is, and why I'm so keen to go after the Original family."

"Oh, I do!" Selina nodded, and opened the first volume of what she later saw was several. It didn't take her long to discover why Dorian and the demons were so against the Originals especially.

"It says the first demon was named Dorian," she remarked then eyed the man who sat across from her. "Is it just a coincidence that the two of you have the same name?"

"No, because we're the same," Dorian replied. "I was the first demon ever created."

Selina's jaw dropped a little. "No," she said. "Get out, _really_?! You must have been around a really long time, even longer than Elijah because they've had demon stories for _ages_!"

Dorian chuckled. "I've been around for a very long time, but I'd like to think that I look very good for my age, don't I?"

"Oh, yeah," Selina nodded and reached out to play with his dark hair. "I can't believe your even asking that question!"

"But I'm letting myself veer from the subject," Dorian cleared his throat. "I apologize. I wasn't always a demon. A long time ago, I was a man. A warlock. I did…I did some bad things and when people in my village thought my behavior was to blame for a terrible famine, they offered me up to our goddess in exchange for good fortune."

"What did you do?" Selina asked. "You can tell me. I won't judge."

Not wanting to burden her (or himself) with his bad behavior, he shook his head. "It doesn't matter what I did," he said, taking her hand. "It won't ever happen again. But after I was put to death, I found myself face to face with our goddess. I thought she would be mad, but she just told me that she had a job for me. I was soon in a space with a couple of others who had also done wrong and she told us that to atone for what we'd done, we would need to become part of an army of demons she would create for if there was a time her sisters' magical experiments got out of hand and needed to be controlled. Her sisters were twins and would frequently try and outdo each other with shows of magical expertise."

"Was your goddess named Hazel?" Selina asked. "Pretty and blonde? Were her sisters Ena and Enid? The ones who created werewolves and vampires?"

"Yes," Dorian nodded. "But how do you know that?"

"I was at the werewolf bar when Enid still ran it," Selina told him. "When I had my first daughter with my werewolf husband, she warned me about the trouble that could happen between werewolf mothers and daughters. As for Ena…I knew her as Vanessa. She had a thing for Elijah's brother Klaus when I was with him and she tried to kill me and our son Adrian just so she could have him for herself. Hazel and Enid also tried to kill me cause they didn't want Ena's species being the top one, but that all sorted itself out in the end." She shrugged.

"My god, I'm surprised we weren't called forth sooner with all that trouble going on," Dorian remarked. Her story was one he hadn't expected.

"So how _did_ all you demon folk decide to show up?" Selina questioned. "Was it just because of John's actions, or was there more to it than that?"

"No, it was John," Dorian assured her. "After we were made into demons, each with different appearances and abilities, we were placed in a parallel world away from everyone else until we were needed. It was near an old, extinct volcano. We were allowed ways to see the world around us so we could acclimate if we needed to surface, but we never had to. Soon, the original three of us were joined by many others, and when we realized we could all procreate…it just…our numbers greatly increased, obviously. We found a way to get out of our prison, if not permanently. Or at least some of us did, as a way to alleviate the boredom of being locked up. The blue ones had the ability to project themselves into the minds of sleeping humans and magic folk, bringing them terror and causing a decline in numbers as people thought of ways to fight back. They were too smart for their own good, which made Hazel lock us all away and remind us of our purpose: not to hurt humans and magic folk, but to protect them from whatever her sisters devised. She kept a closer eye on us after that. Even when she got in trouble with her father and her attention was diverted, many were afraid to leave.

"But then John made a bargain with a bold gray one at the behest of my son Eric, and allowed him to enter the body of his infant son. That gray one leaving opened our prison up and we all chose to escape, regardless of what the consequences would be, because we knew the vampires and the werewolves were up to something."

"Ah," Selina nodded. "Okay. But if you and the others were changed at the same time, why are you the boss?"

"Cause I was the worst," Dorian told her. "I was changed first, and then the other two were changed at different times after me."

"Okay," Selina nodded. "Next question: why bother infesting human forms when you can easily make human forms of your own?"

"It's a safety measure," Dorian explained. "As long as we don't have human hosts, if our goddess finds out we're gone and wants to call us back, she can, and we have no choice in the matter. But if we take human bodies, not just human forms, we can stay on earth as long as we wish regardless of if Hazel wants to call us back or not."

"Okay," Selina nodded. "I wondered about that. And one more question: are all demons bad?"

"As a first generation, because we were punished for bad deeds, me and the others are the worst, but the further you go down the generations, the nicer they become," Dorian explained and then put his arms around her. "Although, as you know, I can be plenty nice when I want to be."

"Oh, of course you can," Selina smiled and read the book over some more. Then she went to rest for an hour and after that, dressed and headed for the limo.

"Where are you going?" Dorian asked curiously.

"That should be obvious," Selina smiled. "I have a husband to divorce and I'm leaving to get the papers before he gets them first. I don't want him to get them first."

"Sounds good," Dorian told her, grinning widely. "I'll have champagne waiting for when you come back."

"Wonderful!" Selina kissed him. "I can't wait!"


	43. You've Been Served

"I'm going to do it!" Elijah informed Amy as he paced around the living room. "I'm going to go file for divorce. Cause I certainly don't want to be in this limbo anymore!"

But as he grabbed his keys and started to head toward his car, the doorbell rang. He went to answer it and saw a man on the other side holding an envelope. "Are you Elijah Mikaelson?" He asked.

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "Who are you?"

"That doesn't matter," The man replied as he handed him the envelope. "You're being served." Then his voice softened a bit. "Sorry about that. Have a nice day."

As he strode away, Elijah glared at the envelope he held, so badly wanting to tear it up.

"Who was at the door?" Amy asked.

"Someone who let me know that I'm not going to have to go and get divorce papers after all," Elijah frowned and strode over to his chair, sitting down heavily and thrusting the envelope in Amy's direction. "Because Selina beat me to it, damn her!"

"Why is this a problem?" Amy questioned. "It's what you wanted. Why does it matter who got them first?"

"Because _I'm_ supposed to!" Elijah cried. " _I'm_ the wronged party here, not her! Since when does _she_ have the right to file first?"

Oh, god, Amy thought. Here we go again. "You're not going to do anything foolish, are you? Like sic Laura on Selina again?" She asked.

"No," Elijah shook his head. "I don't know what that would accomplish."

"Well, I have that to ease my mind, at least," Amy told him. "It's an attitude like this that perfectly illustrates why you're getting divorced now: cause everything has to be about you and you can't admit that you did something wrong."

"What do you think I did wrong?" Elijah asked. "Don't tell me she was right to compel me for her own amusement."

"Oh, I'm sure it wasn't for her own amusement," Amy replied. "She's not the type. I'm sure it was an accident."

"At first it was," Elijah allowed. "But then she made me do a ridiculous dance and taped it so she could show it to my sister and they could have a good laugh at my expense!"

Amy tried not to laugh. Truth be told, she'd seen that video herself and it _was_ funny, as long as she didn't think about the fact that it was happening because of compulsion. "Well, that means you should be all the more glad she filed," she got out. "You won't have to think about that happening again. And it won't because you're now as powerful as you've always been, so there you go."

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "I guess you're right."

"And remember that it doesn't do any good to go on being upset about who filed first," Amy reminded him.

"Or that Selina did it so she could rub her new boyfriend in my face?" Elijah questioned.

"No!" Amy gave him a look. "Is that why you want to be in this relationship with me? So you can rub it in Selina's face?"

"No, we went over this!" Elijah told her. "You're here because I want you to be. And I suppose that means I should stop dwelling on the past, or any wrongs Selina might have done me. I know I can. I don't know why it's so difficult." He gave her a hug and then, after they separated, he said, "I should go find a way to distract myself. What do you suggest I do?"

"I don't know," Amy shrugged. "Go visit someone, go to the library, take a walk and get some fresh air…the possibilities are endless. And if you promise to come back in a better mood, you might have a nice surprise waiting for you."

"Is that so?" Elijah raised an eyebrow and grinned. "That's a very clever bit of bribery, Ms. Burke."

"Yeah," Amy grinned back. "I thought so too." She began nudging him toward the door, and when he was gone, she sat back down on the sofa, took a deep breath, and hoped that he meant it when he said he would come back with a better attitude about this divorce business. Cause if it _didn't_ improve, it would drive her insane. She was very sure about that.

* * *

She had no doubt that Elijah was blowing everything about Dorian out of proportion. Sure the man had probably beat him up, but with his attitude, he probably had it coming, and it wasn't like he wouldn't heal. In spite of what it might to do Elijah, Amy really was curious to meet the man who'd made him so angry. She wanted to see what he was really like and, perhaps, make sure that he would do right by her best friend, although from the sound of things, that wasn't something she had to worry about.

Because of the state of things between them, Amy made sure to give Selina a call before she visited, just on the off chance that Selina didn't want to see her. But she didn't have to worry.

"Sure you can come and meet Dorian!" Selina exclaimed happily. "I'm so glad someone wants to and will come with a good attitude! That hasn't been what's happened so far and it would be a nice change."

"I figured you would say that, but I didn't want to just show up at your front door if I was unwelcome," Amy informed her.

"Why would you be unwelcome?" Selina asked. "Cause of this crap that's going on with Elijah? No, I won't let that destroy one of the few good friendships I've managed to maintain. Did he get the divorce papers? How upset was he?"

"Well, he felt that he was entitled to file first and was mad you beat him to it."

"Oh, yes!" Selina chuckled, feeling very powerful. "That's what I hoped his reaction would be. So…when can we expect you?"

"Can you give me…twenty minutes?" Amy asked. "Or is that too soon?"

"No, that's fine," Selina assured her. "We'll be waiting for you."

"Now, are you sure this friend of yours will be happy to meet me?" Dorian questioned. "Because I would be more than willing to get out of her way while you two visit if she won't be."

"She said very specifically that she wanted to meet you, so you being gone would totally defeat the purpose of her coming," Selina told him. "And I don't think she'll be hostile. She sounded genuinely pleased when she said she wanted to meet you." She paused. "I mean, she might be checking to see if you're being good to me because she's just as knowledgeable about my past relationship fails as everyone else I know, but it won't be like you're facing the Spanish Inquisition."

"Well, that's a relief, but just in case," Dorian remarked, the visions of Laura and her scissors still fresh in his mind, "I'm going to hide all the sharp objects."

Selina wasn't sure if he was being serious or not, so she chuckled and when Amy arrived, they had to wait a little bit for Dorian to reappear.

"Sorry for the wait," he apologized to her after he was introduced to her. "I was just putting some things away."

"He was hiding all the sharp things so you wouldn't try and stab him like Laura wanted to do with her scissors when she was here," Selina explained.

"Oh, I'm so sorry you had to go through that," Amy apologized to Dorian. "I _told_ Elijah that using Laura like that was a bad idea, but he didn't listen to me."

"Don't be hard on yourself," Dorian told her. "I wasn't hurt."

"Good," Amy smiled and looked around. "You have a very nice apartment here," she remarked.

"Doesn't he just, though?" Selina agreed. "We're gonna move in some more stuff I pick soon, so that might change the look a little, but it looks really good now."

"It'll look just as good with your things in it," Dorian assured her.

They then sat in silence while Amy wrestled with how to phrase her next comments without sounding like an overprotective mother. "It seems like you two have a good arrangement here," she remarked at last.

"I'd agree with that," Dorian told her. "And to ease your mind, cause I know you're just dying to ask, I'll be good to her. I promise. I won't just be another name on the list of men who let her down."

"Well, that's good to hear," Amy flushed a little because he'd picked up on her wanting to know that so easily. "Thank you for not being offended that I wanted to ask that."

"No, I understand perfectly," Dorian replied. "You just want to be a good friend." He got to his feet. "Now, I'll let you ladies enjoy your visit. I have some things to attend to in my office. It's wonderful to meet you, Amy. I hope we see each other more often."

He left the room and once they were sure he was out of earshot, they both giggled like school girls.

"He's great, isn't he?" Selina smiled. "I'm just…I'm really damn lucky."

"Yes, I'd have to agree with that," Amy nodded. "Hopefully it all goes well for you this time."

"Me too," Selina agreed. "Now, what about you? I sense Elijah's giving you trouble about the divorce?"

"Well, after he got the papers, he wouldn't shut up about it," Amy replied. "But then we had a discussion and he promised that he would go out, take a walk, and come back with a better attitude. I don't know how well he'll be able to keep that promise, but I hope he tries, at least. When I first heard him talking about you and the relationship, I thought he still wanted you, so I told him I was going to leave because I didn't want to just be a rebound."

"You did?" Selina asked. "That's so smart of you. Maybe if I'd had the strength to do that, my relationship with Elijah wouldn't have been the mess it was."

"Well, maybe it's not that simple," Amy told her. "So much of my life is and has been devoted to fixing other people's so having a strong sense of what I want and what I'm worth was built into me. You haven't had it as much."

"No, I can't say that I did," Selina agreed. "I mean, in my human life, I did what I wanted because I knew that _not_ doing that would turn me into my mother. But at the same time, sticking to a principle isn't always worth it if it makes you end up alone. Maybe that's why I caved so much with Elijah in a way that's so uncharacteristic of how I normally am: doing what he wanted gave me a level of love, regard, and affection that I'd not really had before. It was nice. Nice enough to sell myself short for." She paused. "Tell me honestly: do you think that was a mistake?"

"It would be very easy for someone who didn't have your life experience or thought process to say that it was," Amy told her. "But you did what you felt was good for you at the time until you were ready to do something else. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. You learned in time."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "And it was lucky I did, too."

Amy paused. "I can't believe we're just sitting here and talking like this. Don't you think it's weird?"

"Well, I admit that when Elijah first told me about the two of you, I was hurt and I wondered how long it would take before I could speak to you again without feeling betrayed or angry, but then came this whole realization about how screwed up my relationship with Elijah actually was, and I wasn't mad anymore, especially not at you."

"That's as good an explanation as any, I guess, and I certainly don't want to turn this whole thing into something problematic between the two of us either," Amy said. "How it is now is good."

Selina nodded, then stood up and said, "Would you like a tour? You won't believe how great this place is!"

"Well, if this is just the living room and everywhere else is just as wonderful, yes I would like a tour," Amy replied. "Thanks for asking."

"No problem!" Selina grinned and took her hand. "Let's go!"

* * *

"I have to say that your friend Amy is quite delightful," Dorian remarked as they finished up dinner prepared by his chef that night: filet mignon drizzled with béarnaise sauce, potatoes, and green beans. "Do you think you could persuade her to come visit again?"

"I _know_ I could," Selina assured him. "That won't be a problem. She thinks you have wonderful taste."

After dessert, Dorian helped her from her chair and she put her arms around him and asked, "What should we do now?"

"Well, personally, I think we still have a lot of celebrating to do regarding your impending liberation from your marriage," he told her. "So why don't I pour some more champagne and you go run us a bath?"

"Or," Selina put forth, " _I_ could pour us some champagne and _you_ could run the bath."

"I guess that could be, but if you get the champagne, you won't get to see me undress and I thought you would enjoy that," Dorian reminded her. "That's true, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Selina flushed and grinned. "I guess you have a point." She then left him and zipped to the bathroom, undressing and putting on a robe before turning on the water and putting some bubbles in. Then she went and hid in the little room that held the toilet so that when Dorian came into the bathroom with the champagne, she could make an entrance.

"Darling?" He called as he entered. "Where in the world did you go?"

Selina opened the door, whistled, and then when he was looking at her, came out of the room and dropped the robe at her feet. "I wanted to make an entrance," she told him as he nearly dropped one of the glasses when she came to kiss him. "I guess it worked." She climbed into the tub and watched him with a wicked look in her eyes. He handed her a glass of champagne and she sipped it as she watched him slowly and methodically undress, her tongue licking her bottom lip as he did so.

When all his clothes were in a pile by the tub, he stood there for a moment, grinning at her as she began to rub herself with her free hand. He swaggered toward the tub, gripping the edge, leaning forward and whispering in her ear.

"You just can't wait, can you?"

"No," she growled and drank some more wine. "Please get in the tub, I'm begging you."

"All right," Dorian agreed. "I would hate to make a lady bathe alone." He grabbed his wine and made a quick toast before she finished what was in her glass. "To a now beginning," he said. "And the fact that you can now be totally and completely mine."

"Yes," Selina grinned. "And the fact that you can be mine too." They finished their wine and Dorian zapped the glasses to the table before taking Selina in his arms and rubbing her just as she'd been doing before, and also kissing her neck. "I love baths," she moaned. "Don't you?"

"I would say so," Dorian agreed. He blew some bubbles at her then asked her to get on her knees so he could take her in his arms and bury himself deep inside her over and over again while she whispered his name in his ear.


	44. Finding The Weakest Links

"Can you tell me," Dorian requested of Selina, "What is Amy's address?"

"Why do you want to know?" Selina asked. "Gonna send her a note inviting her to come over again? I don't know if you should do that."

"But you said that she would be coming over again," Dorian reminded her. "So why can't I write her a note and send her some flowers, thanking her for her visit and asking when she can come again?"

"Well, I think you know why," Selina told him, her voice firm. "Elijah was pissed off about _me_ being with you and sent our daughter to our house with scissors and murderous thoughts! Do you want the same thing to happen to poor Amy? Cause I bet that if he finds out you sent her flowers, he's going to give her a bunch of unnecessary grief."

"Oh, all right," Dorian kissed her. "Will you send them then? Please? And put my name on the card?"

"Sure," Selina sighed. "I still think this isn't going to end well, though."

With the flowers and note in hand, Selina took her car and headed back to Elijah's, leaving the flowers on the front step and ringing the doorbell before running back to her car and getting inside so that Amy wouldn't see her and ask her in.

* * *

When Amy found the flowers not long after, the first thing she did, of course, was read the card.

" _Thank you for your visit! We hope to see you again soon. Lots of affection, Dorian and Selina_

"That is so sweet!" Amy smiled as she looked at the bouquet of daisies and sunflowers that had come with the note. "So sweet."

She was enjoying them until Elijah came upon her and snatched the note out of her hand.

"What's this?" He demanded. "Why did Dorian and Selina send you flowers? Did you visit them after I specifically told you not to? No woman of mine will set foot in that man's apartment!"

Amy scoffed. "Then it's a good thing I'm not your woman," she told him. "I can be who I want. I'm my own person! And if I want to go to Dorian's apartment and meet him to make sure Selina won't end up in a relationship with yet another mess of a man like you, I'll do it, and you can't stop me!" She got in his face and pointed a finger at him. "If he was bad to you, it was probably because of something you did. He was a perfect gentleman to me."

"Oh, so you _do_ like him," Elijah scoffed, hands on hips. "So, when Selina's relationship with him reaches its inevitable, terrible conclusion, will you be waiting to become the next in line?"

"How dare you!" Amy cried, giving him a good hard slap. "I can't believe you would claim to love me and then accuse me of something like that. What the hell is wrong with you?!"

After Amy took her flowers and stomped off, Elijah grabbed his phone and called his brother to warn him about Dorian's latest encroachment on their territory. But Klaus didn't answer. He let it ring and ring and ring. That was his problem because he would soon discover that Elijah wouldn't hang up, and that he would have to pick up the phone if he wanted the ringing to stop.

Finally, he heard an angry voice on the other end of the line. "Damn you, Elijah! What is it you want? I am in no mood to have a conversation with the man who betrayed me and stole my wife once again."

"I'm sure of that," Elijah replied. "I wasn't calling to brag. I wanted to tell you that one of the crop of demons has taken an interest in Selina and has just sent flowers to Amy, but if you don't want to know that, I'll respect your wishes and leave you in the dark."

"Just a minute," Klaus told him. "Did you say that Selina moved in with one of the demons who's trying to kill us and that he also has his eyes on Amy?"

"Amy claims he doesn't, but I don't believe her," Elijah replied. "Demons can be very sneaky. As for Selina, I'm not surprised. She's always attached herself to whoever shows her affection."

"Oh, no doubt," Klaus agreed. "That's why she was foolish enough to be with you for so long. But damn. I thought Amy was smarter than that."

"Me too," Elijah agreed. "And hopefully we're wrong. But it just shows that the clever demons found the chink in our armor and one of them is making great strides in trying to bring us down."

"Damn," Klaus cried. "How could this be happening?"

"How indeed?" Elijah concurred. "Now I have to think of how to combat this latest setback."

"Well, of course," Klaus nodded, his voice tightly controlled, despite how angry his former wives' actions were making him. "Would you like my help?"

"No, thank you," Elijah told him. "I can tell just from the sound of your voice that you're much too angry to be of any help to me at this point."

"Well, can you blame me for being upset?" Klaus wanted to know. "You're experiencing the same amount of betrayal. How can you not be more angry?"

"I am," Elijah assured him. "I've just learned over the years how to channel it so I can use it in effective ways."

"Well, it's good that you can do that, Elijah," Klaus told him. "But I think I need to handle things in a different way."

"I'm sure you do," Elijah told him. "Just…whatever you do, be careful, all right? If you're too reckless, some demon might find you and catch you and you don't want _that_ to happen."

"No, I don't," Klaus assured him. "I'm not a fool!"

"Well, goodbye, Niklaus," Elijah told him. "Happy hunting."

"Thank you," Klaus told him. "Same to you."

* * *

Steaming after Elijah's phone call, Klaus slammed down the phone and shifted into his werewolf form, leaving the house and running as far as he could before tiring out in an area that was well known to campers, hikers, and bird watchers. There were also some interesting caves in the area as well. He thought about going into one of them and hiding until he was no longer angry.

Deciding to do just that, he attacked a few people who were wandering aimlessly around the cave he chose until he came upon a hard, white cocoon. Curious, he sniffed it and knocked it with his snout until it began to rock and split. Then he quickly turned human, prepared to fight what was going to come out, but not expecting it to be a pretty young blonde woman.

She grinned and strode toward him, stopping in front of him and putting her hands on his shoulders. At present, he was as naked as she was, something that didn't fail to catch her notice. "It's like you knew I would be here," she said. She looked him over, bit her bottom lip, and said, "Since you seem to be ready for it, you wanna have sex now? I do."

Klaus' eyes widened as he moved her arms and stepped back, trying to get away from her and wishing passionately for something to cover himself up with. "I don't think that'll happen," he told her. "I don't like to make a habit of turning down beautiful women who want my company, but in this case, I just might have to decline."

"Oh, don't be a tease," she grinned and cupped his bare bottom. "If you don't want to be with me, why are you naked?"

He gave a rare blush and moved her hands. "I don't know who you are," he told her. "I don't know what your name is, but…you're a demon, aren't you? I won't be taken advantage of by a demon, especially not one so young."

"First, my name is AnnaLynne," the female demon told Klaus. "And you're an idiot if you truly think I'm as young as I look. I know for a fact that I'm much older than you are. It's just this body that makes me look younger. It was the first one I could find, so I made it my host." She then chuckled and looked him over before coming to put her hands on his shoulders again. "I understand your reluctance," she said. "You're intimidated by how attractive I am so you're trying to hide your feelings and refuse me. But I have to say that you're not doing as good a job of hiding it as you think. Your mouth might say no, but your gorgeous body is obviously saying 'Yes'."

"I don't care!" Klaus growled and pushed her away, wanting to get out of the cave as soon as possible. "Go find someone else to fulfill your needs! A demon boy would probably be best."

"Oh, fine," AnnaLynne huffed. "If you're gonna just leave me, can you at least tell me where I know you from first? Cause you seem very familiar to me."

"Do I?" Klaus asked. "Well, I have no idea about what to tell you. I've never seen you before in my life."

She thought a moment and snapped her fingers. "You're Klaus Mikaelson!" She cried. "My father studied you before he came to earth to check on my brother!"

"Your father?" Klaus questioned, turning to face her and feeling a little bit glad that he was still around. "Who's your father?"

"Dorian Gray, the Supreme White Demon, first of our kind," AnnaLynne rolled her eyes. "And he never lets us forget about it either. I don't know why he decided to call himself Dorian Gray on earth anyway. It's such a silly name."

"Can I go now?" Klaus asked. "Are we done here?"

"Fine," AnnaLynne nodded. "I bet it won't take me long to find someone else to amuse myself with anyway."

"You might want to shower and get all that sticky goo off yourself first," Klaus remarked. "Just a tip." He then turned back into a wolf and began the journey to find Dorian's apartment. He would have asked AnnaLynne if she knew anything, but since she'd just emerged, he doubted she'd be any help.

* * *

"Do you think Amy liked the flowers?" Dorian asked Selina as they both sat on his couch with magazines, trying to find things that Selina would like to add to the apartment. "I hope she did. I picked some that I thought would be nice and sunny and cheerful."

"It was a good idea," Selina agreed, her head on his lap as she held a magazine above it, her eye on a lamp with a light pink shade, and a silver stand with two pink, jewel-like accents on it. "What do you think of this?" She questioned. "Too girly? I'm not super-attached to it. It's cute, though."

"This isn't up to me," he told her. "If you want it, we'll find a place for it."

"Right," Selina nodded. "I always forget." She paused and grinned. "You know, I should really take you to my mother and uncle's house. They have two very different styles just like us, and when they moved in together, they just combined them so you have rustic hunting lodge mixed with frilly English cottage. It's very eye-catching and they even got put in some design magazine for it."

"Wonderful idea!" Dorian grinned. "And I think I should meet your family in any case. But just for my own peace of mind…do you think they'll be as antagonistic toward me as your daughter and your ex-husband are?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "Mama has very few things she wanted in the man I would marry and you fulfill all of them, so there shouldn't be a problem. In fact, she'll be over the moon about you once you assure her you won't murder me."

Satisfied with this plan, they had just turned their attention back to their magazines when there was a loud, persistent knock on the door.

"Oh, who could that be?" Selina huffed. "I hope it's not Elijah again."

"If that's the case, we can handle this," Dorian assured her. He opened the door and, just as Elijah had done, Klaus punched him in the face.

"What the fuck, Klaus?" Selina cried when she saw who it was as she was helping Dorian to his feet. "Why is it that you and Elijah have just decided to show up here and mess with my attempts to start a new life?"

Klaus gave her a thin-lipped smile as he adjusted the shirt and pants he'd stolen off a clothesline and said, "I know this might surprise you, sweetheart, but not everything in my life is about you. Especially not anymore. Now stand aside so that I might have a word with your new boyfriend."

"No," Selina told him. "If you want to say something to Dorian. You'll have to say it to me too, because I'm not leaving." She expected Dorian to protest this and say something macho about how he was fine and he didn't need her help, but he didn't. He just took her hand and squeezed it tight.

"What is it that you want from me?" He asked Klaus. "What have I done to you? I hope you haven't come to ask for Selina back."

"No, I haven't," Klaus assured him. "That ship sailed a long time ago. I don't give a fuck what you do with her, but don't think you can mix me up in some affair with your daughter. If that's your plan, I've already met her, so I know what to avoid and it won't work." He left before Dorian even had a chance to reply.

Once he was gone, Dorian and Selina looked at one another, dumbfounded.

"What was he saying about you having a daughter?" Selina finally got out. "Dorian, what's going on? Am I gonna be in danger?"

"Oh, shit!" Dorian swore. "It must be AnnaLynne. She's wanted to come be among humans and people with human forms for years, but I never let her. She's not exactly what you would call a people person. It seems, however, with me focused on other things, she's finally taken the chance to escape and come here."

"So are we in big trouble?" Selina asked, coming a little closer to him. "Be honest with me."

"Oh, you're not in danger," Dorian assured her. "But everyone else who's not under my protection…let's say that they'll have a problem or two popping up soon, unless, by some miracle, AnnaLynne's already found a man to occupy herself with for more than a few hours. But she's so flighty, I doubt that's happened."


	45. Selina Meets The Family

Frustration with Sophia and the pregnancy issue soon sent Eric out looking for other company, even that of his father. He knocked on Dorian's apartment door, then stepped back and waited, surprised when it was not his father who opened the door, but a brunette woman with big blue eyes. "Hello," she greeted him with a smile. "Are you here to see Dorian? Come in!"

Eric was very surprised and warmed by this welcome. This woman had a warm, friendly aura that he didn't usually associate with his father's girlfriends. Dressed the way she was in a skintight white dress and red shoes with very high heels and lipstick in the same shade, she couldn't be anything else. "Thank you," he said and sat down on the sofa. "Yes, Mr. Gray is my father."

"You're Eric?" Selina smiled. "It's so nice to meet you. I've heard so many good things." She turned her head and called for Dorian. "Your son's come to visit, Mr. Gray!" She called. "Wanna come out and introduce me?"

Dorian strode into the room, smiled at Eric, and pulled Selina close. "I see you've met Selina, Eric. She's my new girlfriend."

Eric said nothing, but the look on his face and how he held himself told Selina he wasn't exactly thrilled with her.

"Father," he said at last. "May I speak to you in your bedroom, please?"

"Why can't you say what you want to say out here?" Dorian questioned.

Eric avoided Selina's eyes as he replied, "Because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings."

So Dorian followed Eric to the bedroom and when the door was closed, Eric exploded. "Are you out of your fucking mind, Father? That woman is an Original's wife! What game do you think you're playing?"

"I'm not playing any game," Dorian told him firmly. "I understand why you might be concerned, but Selina's chosen me. She's in the process of getting a divorce from Elijah as we speak. I saw the papers myself. I don't like how much you're questioning my choices. I deserve more respect than that."

Eric hung his head and sighed. "All right, I apologize," he said. "I wasn't aware of your plan and thought something was going to go wrong, but if you feel comfortable with it all, I suppose I can leave it be."

"This isn't a plan," Dorian spat. "Selina's not just a tool for my ends. When I first met her, I had no idea who she was, but I found her to be very sweet and very pretty."

"Yes, I'm sure that's all you found her," Eric scoffed.

"It was," Dorian insisted. "Now, don't you think we should go back out there so you can greet Selina properly?"

Eric rolled his eyes behind Dorian's back as they headed back to see Selina again, but when she and he were face to face, he stuck out his hand and gave her as sincere a smile as he could muster. "It's so nice to formally meet you, Miss Warren," he told her as he took her hand.

"I feel the same," Selina replied. "And I understand why you're worried, but you don't have to be. You have your father's charm." She then looked between Eric and Dorian, and gracefully excused herself. "I'm sure the two of you have important things you'd like to discuss, so I will go in the kitchen and see if I can't help Claude with dinner."

When she was gone, Eric let out a breath and sat more relaxed on the sofa.

"Are you all right?" Dorian questioned. "What brings you here? You don't usually show any overwhelming desire to see me."

Eric's dark eyes flashed. "Sophia and I are having problems. She's not as easy to deal with as I thought she would be. She refuses to bear my children as soon as possible! She's been taking pills to prevent pregnancy, and she told me to give her two weeks before she goes off them and we can actually conceive!" He leaned close to Dorian. "If you're thinking of having children with Selina, you might want to check and see if she has pills too. You don't want to be in the same position I'm in." He waited to see his father be outraged on his behalf, but Dorian just laughed, his body shaking as he put his hand over his mouth.

"Oh, my goodness," he said when he could finally speak. "You really picked the right woman, Eric. She's so strong! You're very lucky, son."

"Yeah," Eric grimaced. "Lucky me."

* * *

Selina had enjoyed meeting Eric, so when the next knock came on the penthouse door, she got up and bounded over to open it, finding herself face to face with a sour-looking blonde who gave her the once over and stepped back, pointedly ignoring her until Dorian came up behind her to see who had come. Then she strode inside, pushing Selina out of the way with her shoulder and taking Dorian in her arms.

"Hi, Daddy," she grinned and kissed his cheek. "Are you surprised to see me?"

Dorian's mouth opened and closed rapidly. "Well, I-uh-"

"That's all right," the young woman smiled. "I know you're glad I'm here. You don't have to say it." She walked around the apartment and smiled. "Nice place you have here!" She then saw the pink chair and frowned. "Except for that. What the hell were you thinking?"

"It's mine," Selina said firmly. "Please let me introduce myself…"

"Oh, no need," the woman replied. "I know a maid when I see her. Is Daddy letting you borrow some clothes from his old girlfriends so you can feel a little important? Get me a vodka and cranberry on the rocks."

"AnnaLynne," Dorian hissed as AnnaLynne settled herself on the sofa, "This is Selina. She's not a maid. She is someone I love very much. So if you want a drink, get it yourself."

AnnaLynne frowned and did just that, and when she came out of the kitchen, Dorian formally introduced daughter and girlfriend. "Selina, this is my daughter, AnnaLynne. AnnaLynne, this is Selina Warren. Be nice to her."

"Oh, don't worry about me," Selina told Dorian sweetly. "I know how to handle women like her. My mother was one at one point."

AnnaLynne made a face at her as she surveyed her father's latest pick. "I really can't say I admire your taste," she said dismissively. "You've gone for something a lot simpler, haven't you? A vampire? _Really?"_

"It's…it's nice to meet you, I'm sure," Selina told her. But her voice lacked enthusiasm and she didn't hold out her hand.

Dorian shook his head as he frowned at his daughter. "What is it with you and your brother having such bad attitudes and showing me disrespect in my home?"

"We're just trying to keep you from making a big mistake," AnnaLynne replied. "You'll thank us some day."

That was the last straw for Dorian. He grabbed her by the arm and hauled her to her feet, her drink falling from her hand and spattering all over the carpet. "I'm not going to regret anything," he said firmly. "And no matter what games you want to play with my mind, Selina is not going away. Apologize to her. She deserves that."

"Oh, no, Dorian," Selina told him. "You don't need to be so harsh. That's not the way to get people to do what you want."

"I don't need you to defend me!" AnnaLynne spat. "Mind your own business. But I suppose if I must apologize, I'm sorry."

It didn't seem particularly sincere, but Selina knew it was the best she'd get from this brat, so she accepted it, then went to her and Dorian's bedroom to read a book in peace.

This left father and daughter glaring at one another. "All right," Dorian cried. "What are you doing here? Knowing you as I do, I'm pretty sure it isn't anything good. Whatever you have in mind, remember that it must not interfere with my own plans, or you'll be sorry."

"Oh, just let me take the knife out of my heart!" AnnaLynne replied. "Can't I just come and see my father without being suspected of being shady?"

"No," Dorian shook his head. "Not really. You came to cause trouble and I would like to know what kind."

"Oh, please," AnnaLynne laughed and took his face in her hands, squeezing his cheeks. "If I tell you, you'll just try and stop me. What fun would that be? No, I'll be keeping my plans close to the vest for the time being, Daddy dearest. No one will know them. Not even you. That way, you'll be just as surprised as everyone else."

Dorian just stared at her. There wasn't much on this earth that made him sit up and be on his guard, but AnnaLynne…there were times when she did.

* * *

It didn't take long for Dorian to tire of AnnaLynne's bad attitude toward Selina, so he kicked her out, and soon, she was wandering around and looking for a place to stay. Feeling thirsty and irritable, she wandered into a bar with nowhere available to sit except at the bar. She took an empty chair then tapped on the shoulder of the blond man in the next chair with his back to her. "Hey," she said. "Wanna buy a pretty, thirsty lady a drink?" Then he turned and they both gasped at the sight of each other.

"I'm surprised you want a drink," Klaus told her dryly. "I thought you'd just hit me, hog-tie me, drag me out of here to the trunk of your car, and then take me home. But this shows some patience."

"Oh, you're very droll," AnnaLynne spat. "I'm serious about that drink. And my father kicked me out of his apartment cause I wouldn't be nice to his new girlfriend, so I've got nowhere to stay."

"You do realize that it would be a really stupid thing to be associated with me, given how your father is against my family and everything we stand for?" Klaus questioned.

"I do," AnnaLynne nodded. "Are you scared of him? That disappoints me." She reached out and stroked his palm with her thumb. "Cause I really think we could be friends."

"I disagree," Klaus told her. "I really don't like you and I think I want to get up and move somewhere else."

"But where will you go?" AnnaLynne wanted to know as he plunked some money down on the counter and got up from his seat. "There's nowhere else to sit."

"Are you planning on staying here?" Klaus asked. "Cause if you are, I'm leaving."

"Where are we going?" AnnaLynne asked. She had to have a place to stay and this was the only man she knew. The only person, besides her father. She had to stick with him, no matter how much he complained.

"Look, we're going nowhere!" Klaus cried impatiently and pushed her away. "I don't want anything to do with you!" He yelled the last sentence, which caused everyone to stare at them, at Klaus, as if he were nuts to refused a beautiful blonde who wanted to go with him.

"Will you still refuse me?" She asked, following him out the bar door.

"Yes," Klaus told her firmly, giving a brief wave. "Goodbye!" He took several steps, hearing her behind him but doing his best to ignore her, hoping she would lose interest and go away. But by the time he reached his house, she was still with him.

"Leave me," he told her. "I don't want you here. How much more clearly can I say that?"

But she refused to leave, and at last, a wicked, awful idea crept into his brain that would be _sure_ to drive her away so that he would never see her again. "You _really_ want to stay with me, don't you?" He asked. "Even though we don't really know one another that well, and you have no idea what I'm like."

AnnaLynne crossed her arms and grinned. "If you think you can scare me off, that's highly unlikely. I don't scare easily."

"Well, good," Klaus smiled. "Come inside and have a look at where you'll be staying."

They went inside and AnnaLynne let out a shriek. The place was a mess. Dust on every surface along with beer cans, pizza boxes, and who knew what else. It was something that AnnaLynne didn't want to think about. "What the hell is wrong with you?" She asked. "How can you live like this?"

"Well, I've been so torn up over the loss of my wife that I have lost the will to clean," Klaus told her, a wide grin on his lips. "But if you'll clean this place up, I'll let you have a bed for a night. It just hinges on how determined you are to be with me."

"What sort of a fool do you take me for?" AnnaLynne spat. "I will _not_ get down on my knees and clean up a hell-hole like this, especially just for one night's lodging in return. You're out of your mind!"

Klaus chuckled. "You won't get down on your knees to clean, but you seemed more than eager before to get down on your knees for other reasons. If you're not happy, you can just leave. It wouldn't bother me if you did." He pointed out the open door, hoping with all his might that she would get out.

But AnnaLynne picked up on that right away and, even though it pained her, the look on his face would be worth all the work she had to do. All the… _cleaning._ "All right," she said with a smile and rolled up her sleeves as his jaw dropped. "Where do you want me to start?"

"You…you're really gonna clean my house?" Klaus asked in shock. He hadn't counted on this at all. "You know, you don't really have to. I have a maid."

"No, no," AnnaLynne told him, shaking out her blonde hair. "I want to earn my keep in exchange for your generosity. Why don't I start with those pizza boxes? There better not be any rats under them."

Oh, damn, Klaus thought to himself as he watched her walk around gingerly lifting up pizza boxes to look for rodents or bugs and then, seeing none, picking up the boxes and throwing them away. What was happening? What had he gotten himself into?


	46. Taking A Leap

After a long day of cleaning, when it became dark, AnnaLynne put her broom down and collapsed on the sofa. "All right," she said with a yawn. "I'm tired now. Everything on my body hurts. I think it's time I have a warm bath and tuck myself into a nice bed for the night."

"I don't think that will work," Klaus told her. "The only bed that's set up is mine. None of the other beds have sheets on them or anything. And the warm water's not working."

"So?" AnnaLynne replied. "We can share a bed. I don't mind. You don't kick in your sleep or steal the covers, do you?"

"Even if I did, it wouldn't matter to you," Klaus told her, going to get a pillow and a blanket, along with a t-shirt from his bedroom floor for her to sleep in. "You can sleep on the couch. It'll make it so you don't have to move so far."

" _The couch_?" AnnaLynne's jaw dropped. "I did a ton of work to clean your house and the way you repay me is to let me sleep on the _couch_?" She huffed, wishing she hadn't done such a good job of cleaning. He didn't deserve it. She growled and kicked him in the shins, but he was chuckling to himself as he bade her goodnight and limped off to his own large, luxurious bed.

When he was gone, AnnaLynne lay awake for a while, staring up at the ceiling in the darkness and plotting how she would avenge this slight in a way that would make sure he never did it again. She thought and she thought, then she got an idea, laughing to herself before she shut her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Klaus was awakened the next morning around eight by the noise of a very loud radio and some very bad singing. He looked at the clock, groaned, and swore when he saw it was just past eight and he usually didn't get out of bed before noon. Getting out of bed, he stomped to the kitchen, finding AnnaLynne singing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" off-key, her voice nearly drowned out by the radio as she stood over a pan of what looked like it was gonna be omelets. Or _an_ omelet.

"Hey!" He shouted. "Do you mind?" But she didn't hear him so he thought, instead of shouting himself hoarse since she was probably ignoring him on purpose, he would turn off the radio instead. She would _have_ to listen to him then. He did that and she went silent. But just for a second.

"What did you do that for?" She cried. "I'm making you breakfast. The least you can do is let me listen to my music."

"Not at top volume at this time of day," Klaus grouched and went to get himself some coffee. "Some of us are trying to sleep!"

"I don't feel any shame," AnnaLynne replied as she pushed the eggs around with a spatula and dumped in some bacon and onion. "Getting up early stops you from being lazy."

"You would think that," Klaus told her. "But not in my case." He took a swig from his cup. "I see you're wearing the shirt I left you."

"Well, it was either that or walk around naked, and while I'm sure the latter would have made you happy, I wasn't in the mood for that and took the lesser of the two evils," AnnaLynne remarked.

"I'm glad," He gulped down his coffee and grabbed her by the arm. "Cause you're going to leave now, and I would feel just _terrible_ if I threw you out onto the street with nothing on." He pushed her out the door, threw the clothes she'd been wearing the night before after her, and then slammed the door shut, going to finish making the omelet she'd started, eating it, and then making an attempt to go back to a peaceful, uninterrupted sleep as AnnaLynne got to her feet on the pavement, pounded on the door, and then threw a rock at one of his windows before striding off and not looking back after adjusting the t-shirt to cover as much as it could and slipping on her shoes.

* * *

Even though it had been many hours since his chat with his father, Dorian's laughter about Sophia still rang in Eric's ears and made him determined to remedy the situation once and for all. He strode into the house and found her reading a magazine in the living room. He stood over her, glaring and breathing heavily until she looked up at him and put her magazine down. "And just what's wrong with you?" She asked dryly. "I take it that the meeting with your father didn't go well?"

"Not really," Eric replied, then turned around and strode out of the room.

"Wait!" Sophia cried. "Let's talk about it."

"No," Eric shook his head. "I'm going to find your pills, get rid of every damn one, and then we're going to get you pregnant."

"No, no, we're not!" Sophia cried, trying to stop him. "You promised you wouldn't do that! You promised!"

Eric ignored her and ran into the bathroom, where he found some pills in the toilet tank, taking them out and flushing them.

Sophia growled, feeling hot tears starting to spill out of her eyes that she didn't want Eric to see. "I can't believe you did that after you promised me you wouldn't. I really don't believe you!"

Eric gave her a toothy grin and grabbed her wrist. "Well, if you can't believe that I would lie to get what I want, you obviously don't know me very well, do you?"

He began to drag her toward the bedroom, swearing and groaning as she struggled against his grip and bit and kicked him. He finally grabbed her by the hair and forced her to look in his eyes. "Darling, you can bite, kick, and complain all you want, but it won't stop me from doing what I need to do. I really wish you had chosen to be more agreeable about this cause it truly pains me to go ahead with it without you being fully on board, but I can't waste time anymore. Not with my father having a new girlfriend."

"Thank you for at least acknowledging that you're doing this without me being fully on board," Sophia said as he tossed her onto the bed. "I didn't even think you would acknowledge that." She huffed. "Do what you need to do, but I won't make it the least bit enjoyable for you."

"And see, that's the point," Eric told her firmly as he undressed her. "This isn't about enjoyment. This is about securing my legacy. There's a difference, you know. A very distinct one."

Sophia rolled her eyes and let him undress her the rest of the way, then shut her eyes and tried to think of something else while he did what he felt he had to do. Hopefully this would get him off her back for a while.

"How long will we have to do that?" She asked as he dressed.

"Until you get pregnant," Eric replied as he looked at himself in the dresser mirror and straightened some of his dark hair that had fallen out of place. "I would have thought the answer would be obvious. So…it just depends on how fertile you are."

"Well, hopefully I'm fertile because I don't want to have to go through that too many times," Sophia shot back. "I hope you're nicer to me when I'm pregnant."

"Of course, sweetheart," Eric cooed as he came over to play with her hair. "What kind of a monster would I be if I was cruel to my pregnant wife?"

* * *

After how his daughter had treated her, Dorian felt like he had a lot to make up for toward Selina. He did many little things, but it never seemed enough. Then, he finally decided to do what he felt she deserved. He gave the staff the night off one evening and cooked Selina a pasta dinner with crème brulee.

"Oh, I love this," she remarked through a full mouth as she devoured the bowtie pasta with peas, chicken, and white sauce on her plate. "What did I do to deserve it?"

"I don't know why you think you have to deserve it," Dorian smiled and kissed her hair. "But in this case, it's an apology for how my daughter behaved and also…there's one more thing. It might be too soon, but I don't think I can wait anymore."

"Oh?" Selina paused and looked up, her cheeks full of pasta. "What is it?"

He smiled and put two shiny black boxes in the center of the table, pushing one toward Selina's place. She opened it and gasped, the sight of a splendid gold bracelet with rubies on it meeting her eyes. This wasn't something she'd expected.

"Oh, my god," she breathed and removed it. "Is this for me?" She asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Yes," Dorian replied. "I have one too." He put it on his wrist, then came around to her chair, gently taking the bracelet from her, smiling, and kneeling in front of her as Selina's eyes widened.

"Oh, my god," Selina's breathing became shallow. She felt like she was going to faint. Was this really happening? Was he proposing to her when he hardly knew her at all?

"I know it might seem very sudden for me to do this," he got out. "But when have we taken our time with things? You can refuse if you'd like, but I hope you don't, when I ask you to be my wife, Selina Warren."

"I-I-I…" She paused and smiled. "You know what? Sure, why not? It's quick like you say, but not quick enough that I don't feel more at home with you than I've ever felt with any man in my whole life."

"So you will?" Dorian smiled. "You'll marry me?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "I mean, our kids might not like it, but what the hell? It's our lives, not theirs." She held out her wrist and he slipped the bracelet on it, and when it was settled against her skin, the rubies seemed to glow a bit brighter. She looked it over and asked, "Why did you pick a bracelet? Usually people go with rings. I appreciate someone who wants to step off the beaten path."

Dorian chuckled, put an arm around her, and kissed her cheek. "I know this might seem strange to you, but bracelets like this that are covered in rubies, are symbols of loyalty and fidelity among demons. It's a good thing it glowed like that too."

"Really?" Selina questioned, still trying to get through her head that demons gave engagement tokens, much less that the tokens actually meant things. "Why?"

"Because when the ruby glows, it means you're fit to be my equal," Dorian explained. "My queen. That you're the right one for me and not just someone who'll be my downfall."

"Well, that's good to know," Selina smiled. "That bracelet sure knows what it's talking about." She paused. "Did you…did you just say that once we're married, I'm gonna be your queen?"

"Yes," Dorian nodded. "Of course. What's wrong with that? Is the idea making you have second thoughts?"

"Oh, no," Selina shook her head. "If your children don't make me have second thoughts and if _my_ children don't make _you_ have second thoughts, then being told I'm gonna be demon royalty certainly won't. I just want to warn you though that being queenly is not the most natural thing in the world for me. It's going to take some getting used to."

"Of course it will," Dorian nodded. "But I have complete confidence that you can do it, however long it takes you."

"Really?" Selina smiled.

"Really," Dorian confirmed. He took her in his arms and kissed her, but as she felt him push up the skirt of her dress and start to remove her panties, she stopped him.

"Just a minute," she said. "Sorry to stop you, but I really feel like I should call my mother and tell her what's happened. It won't take me long. I promise."

"All right," Dorian nodded, trying to calm himself down. "Go ahead."

Selina kissed him and hiked up her panties before running to grab her cell phone and dial her mother's number.

"Well, look who's called me!" Amelia exclaimed when she picked up. "What's going on? I hope it's nothing bad."

"I just…I got engaged and I thought you'd want to know," Selina told her.

"Who'd you get engaged to?" Amelia asked. "Not the man who gave you all those presents. Sweetheart, you barely know him! I know you're an adult and capable of making your own decisions, but I married the way you are and it didn't end well for me. I don't want you to make the same mistakes and marry crazy people who don't really care for you just because you want affection."

"Mama, believe me, I know where your head is, but it's not like that with me and Dorian. I fit in better with him than I have with any man my whole life. My friend Amy likes him and trusts him. And since I knew that you'd feel how you're feeling, why don't you, Daddy, and Uncle Andrew come and meet Dorian? If you did, would that ease your mind?"

"Yes," Amelia said after a silence of some length. "I suppose it would. And remember, if you're already sleeping with him, don't say a word about it to your father."

"Of course not," Selina agreed. "What do you think I am, an idiot? How's Saturday for the meeting?" She looked at Dorian and he nodded. "At…six in the evening?"

Dorian nodded again.

"I'll ask your uncle and your daddy," Amelia replied. "But that sounds all right to me. Congratulations on your engagement, Selina, and I hope this one finally works out for you."

"Thank you," Selina told her. "See you Saturday." She got off the phone and looked at Dorian apologetically. "Sorry," she said. "But my parents are a bit…overprotective of me."

"That's fine, I understand," Dorian told her. "But just for my peace of mind, they won't come and to murder me like Laura did, right?"

"No," Selina shook her head and gave him a hug. "As long as you don't tell my father that we're sleeping together before marriage, then you should be just fine."


	47. No More Second-Guessing

"Don't be nervous about meeting my father," Selina told Dorian as she and the chef worked on the final touches of the casual, light lunch they were making for when Selina's family came. It wouldn't be long before they arrived now. About ten minutes or so.

When there was a knock on the door, Selina finished frosting the petit fours and ran to answer it. She opened the door and felt her father pull her into his arms until she heard her uncle beg him to let her go.

"All right, Matthew," he said. "That's enough. "Let us come in!"

Matthew let her go and smiled, then he stepped aside and Amelia and Andrew follow him in.

"Welcome to my new home," Selina smiled at them all. "Come with me and I'll introduce you to Dorian." She held out her hand with the bracelet. "My fiancé!"

Andrew took her hand and whistled. "Isn't that pretty?" He remarked.

"Yes," Amelia agreed and took her daughter's hand. "It really is. We know your fiancé has taste. That's a good start."

"Yeah," Selina grinned and sighed contentedly. "He does!"

"And he let you keep your chair!" Matthew exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Why not?" Selina asked. "He's not all fussy about his image like Elijah was. He told me he really wants me to feel like this place is my home too."

"Well, I think I like him already," Andrew said, pacing around and putting his hands all over everything. "Do you think this is genuine?" He asked, picking up a Ming vase. "How old do you think it is?"

"Probably ancient," Matthew told his brother. "Now, put that down, Andrew. You don't need to touch everything."

"Oh, all right," Andrew rolled his eyes. "But I wasn't going to break it, Matthew. I have more sense than that."

"Sometimes, I wonder," Matthew remarked. Then he turned to Selina. "So where is he? Did he know we're coming?"

"Of course!" Selina nodded. "He probably just wants to make an entrance."

A few seconds after that, Dorian strode into the living room, adjusting his silver moon and sun shaped cufflinks before looking up at his guests and smiling. "Sorry for keeping you waiting," he apologized. "I lost my cufflinks and had a devil of a time finding them. I'm Dorian Gray, it's a pleasure to meet you all."

Andrew, Matthew, and Amelia all stared at one another and finally, Matthew stood up and made the first move. "Hello, Mr. Gray," he greeted, taking his hand. "My daughter says you've been very good to her. I like that."

"Oh, it's my pleasure," Dorian told him, then greeted Andrew and Amelia in turn. "I love your daughter very much. It's all right that I proposed to her, isn't it? I apologize for not asking you first."

"Well, thank you," Matthew remarked in surprise. "I appreciate that."

"And I also want to assure you that your daughter and I have separate bedrooms too," Dorian continued, wanting to get it out there before Matthew had a chance to ask. "No intimacy until after the wedding for us!"

Matthew chuckled. "Thank you for that," he said. "But I know…I know that's a fib meant to sooth me. I know how things are today and that the rules for relationships between men and women have changed."

"Well, this is a surprise," Selina remarked. "Have things with Sarah changed your thinking?"

"Of course," Matthew nodded. "I mean, I'm not going to become a hippie and partake in that sort of thing myself, but…I understand why it's so for other people."

"Talk about fibs meant to soothe," Andrew whispered in Amelia's ear and made her chuckle.

After the elephant in the room had been addressed and they'd come out of it relatively unscathed, things were much easier. They chatted a little more, then had a light lunch of various little appetizers and treats while continuing to chat about how good the apartment looked.

"Thanks," Dorian said. "I just know that when Selina gets more of her style in here, it will look even better. And then eventually, we're going to move to a bigger house, but for now, this nice and cozy little place is just perfect."

* * *

Though she was a little nervous, when Matthew asked to speak to Dorian in private, Selina finally agreed to go to their bedroom with her mother so they could talk themselves.

"I hope Daddy and Uncle Andrew aren't mean to him," Selina told her mother. "I mean, do _you_ think they have any reason to be nervous? Are _you_ nervous at all?"

"Isn't he some sort of demon?" Amelia asked.

"Yeah, but…he's not gonna be bad to me!" Selina assured her. "He said so. Elijah and the others might be in danger and my kids sure as hell won't like it, but I don't care. I love him."

"You don't have to justify yourself to me," Amelia told her. "You're an adult. You can make your own choices. And from what I've seen, I'm convinced that you'll be all right."

"Really?" Selina smiled. "Well, thank you! I'm so glad you think so. I just hope Daddy and Uncle Andrew feel the same way."

"I don't know if your father will ever truly let himself," Amelia replied. "Even though he's allowed himself to have another wife and another child, I think there's a part of him that will always try to make up for not being there for you when you were human, no matter how old you get or how good things seem to be going."

"Would I be a bad person if I said I was glad about that?" Selina questioned.

"No, you wouldn't be a bad person," Amelia shook her head and pushed some of Selina's hair out of her eyes. "He just wants you to be happy and safe. And your uncle and I do too."

"I think we've finally gotten there this time," Selina said as she hugged her mother. "I really do."

* * *

Amelia, Matthew, and Andrew left soon after that, and Selina and Dorian were left blessedly alone.

"I hope my father and my uncle weren't too hard on you," Selina remarked to him as she put a hand on his thigh. "Were they? Cause if they were, I think I have some ideas of how to make it up to you."

"They weren't so bad," Dorian assured her and took her in his arms. "I'm positive I convinced them that you're going to be in good hands."

"Wonderful," Selina smiled, pulling him to herself, giving him one quick peck, and then pulling him back for a longer kiss. Then he picked her up and carried her to their bed, grinning as they both fell onto the mattress and began pulling off each other's clothes.

"I don't know about you, but I'm done pretending to be celibate," Dorian remarked. "Even if it wasn't for very long, it was enough." He kissed down Selina's bare stomach, then paused and grinned at her as her hips bucked forward before he slipped off her panties, parted her legs, and entered her a few times with his long fingers before slowly pleasuring her with his tongue.

Selina gripped the edge of the mattress, shut her eyes tight, and just began crying out cause she couldn't keep what she felt in anymore. "Oh, yes! Oh, god, yes! There…there…good! Do it again, do it again!"

She was surprised when he finally scooped her up, pulled her close against him, and pushed into her over and over again as she ran her fingers through his dark hair, her chin resting on his shoulder.

When she finally fell back onto the pillow, he grinned and said, "Was that too much? Did I wear you out?"

"Oh, hell no," Selina panted. "In fact, if you just got me have a brief food break, we could be going again in like, twenty minutes."

"That's good to know, but I was just teasing you," Dorian told her. "I don't want you to hurt yourself or overdo it."

"I won't," Selina replied, reaching out to stroke him gently, a wicked grin on her lips. "Now, do you want to get our little snack, or should I?"

"I will," Dorian told her, wanting to move while it was still relatively easy for him. "Anything in particular, or do you want me to just grab what I reach first?"

"I don't care," Selina shrugged. "Just grab what you reach first and get back here as soon as possible." She smiled sweetly. "Please."

* * *

After he kicked AnnaLynne to the curb, Klaus had a blissful few days as he comforted himself in the fact that he would never have to see her again. He was thinking this at Roxie's when there was a tussle and AnnaLynne forced her way into the bar with some of the bouncers trailing behind her.

"Hey," she greeted a shocked Klaus and sat down next to him. "Nice to see you!" Then she turned to Roxie, who standing behind the bar. "Can I have a drink, please?"

"You're not a werewolf," Klaus told her. "Just be glad that you lasted long enough to get in here. Don't push your luck. Just leave."

"You don't seem so happy to see me," AnnaLynne told him.

"Well, of course!" Klaus nodded. "What part of it all do you not get? Did I not make it clear how much I never wanted to see you again when I threw you out of my house? Don't try and get me to invite you home again."

"That's not my plan," AnnaLynne assured him. "I came to tell you that I won't be bothering you anymore. I don't need your help and I don't want it, either." She then realized that her tone of voice had made everyone in the bar stare at her intently and she grabbed Klaus' arm. "What are they looking at me for?" She whispered. "It's like everyone in this place wants to devour me."

"Well they can probably smell demon scent on you," Klaus whispered. "Werewolves have a very good sense of smell, you know, and that's what the majority of people in here are."

"That's not very nice," AnnaLynne remarked. "Okay, people. Yes, I'm not a werewolf, but that doesn't give you a right to stare. Just go about your business, will you?"

"Do what she says," Klaus added. "Trust me, she's not very interesting. I've seen heads on beer that were more interesting than her."

When everyone was finally looking away, Klaus said, "You can thank me now by leaving."

"Of course," AnnaLynne nodded. "After this, I won't see you again. You don't have to worry about that. But before I go, I have one question for you and I want you to answer honestly."

"I'm not sure you do, depending on what the question is," Klaus told her. "But go ahead and ask."

"What is it that you don't like about me?" She got out, sitting on the bar stool beside him and holding his eyes. "Why have you hated me from the first minute we laid eyes on each other? Is it because I'm not pretty enough for you?" She said this with disbelief, as if no one could think that.

Klaus looked her over and then said, "You're just not my type, all right? Accept that answer and don't bother me anymore."

"Oh, fine," AnnaLynne huffed. "I wouldn't want to be with such a grouch anyway, even if you _are_ extremely nice on the eyes." She cleared her throat and stood up from the bar stool. "I'll be going now," she said. "And remember, after this, you'll never see me again."

"Good," Klaus nodded. "I have no problem with that."

She made a face at him, strode from the bar, and Klaus sat there with his drink, wondering how long it would be until she broke her vow and showed up at his doorstep.

* * *

Though she'd consented to Eric's overtures to get him off her back, the mood in the house between Sophia and her man was irrevocably changed. She tried her best to stay with him, but in the end, it just became too much. She got up out of bed one night and creeped to one of the bathrooms, shutting the door and pulling out her phone, dialing and hoping with all her might that either Lilith or her uncle were awake to take her call.

"Yes, hello?" Answered Lilith's sleepy voice. "Who the hell is this?"

"It's Sophia," Sophia replied in a hushed voice. "I need you to come and pick me up. Take me to live with your or something. I-I can't live with Eric anymore."

"Why not?" Lilith questioned, sounding much more awake now. "What happened, Sophia? Has he hurt you? Surely he wouldn't do that if you both have real feelings for each other. Surely he's not dumb enough to just want you to have his babies."

"No, it's just that he wants to have children," Sophia replied. "He wants to and he won't let the subject drop, even though I've told him lots of times that I'm just not ready. Apparently that's all I'm good for to him and he won't be nice to me or talk about anything else until I've gotten pregnant, which, like I said, I don't want yet. So I think the only choice I have is to leave. Will you come and get me? And fast?"

"Oh, damn you, Eric," Lilith swore. "You can just go to hell." She paused and told Sophia, "Don't you worry. Your uncle and I will be there to get you. Don't move. Make sure you're locked in wherever you are."

Sophia did so and prayed that her uncle and Lilith would get to the house before Eric woke up and tried to stop their getaway. When she heard a gentle knock on the bathroom door, she whispered, "Who is it?" and was very relieved to hear her uncle's voice on the other end of the door. She got out and Caleb put an arm around her, bundling her outside, where they waited for Lilith, who was doing some sort of magic to keep Eric asleep so he wouldn't come upon them and ruin everything.

He knew that she could take care of herself, but he was very relieved all the same when she showed up and they all zapped themselves back to Lilith's house.

"Was it hard keeping him occupied?" Sophia asked as she sat down on the steps up to the second floor. "I thought it would be."

"Not for me," Lilith shook her head. "Remember, I know him a lot better than you do. I know demon powers a lot better than you do. Between those two things, it's not hard for me to keep him down when need be. Now, do you want to go back to bed? Do you think you'll be able to sleep?"

"I'll try," Sophia nodded. "I don't know how well it will work though. And we should probably expect to see Eric sometime tomorrow. As smart as he is, it probably won't take him long to figure out I'm gone."

* * *

Sophia wasn't wrong on that score. When he woke up the next morning and found her side of the bed empty, at first it didn't faze him because he thought she was playing some sort of sexy game with him and would soon appear in tiny panties and no bra and throw herself into his arms. But when that didn't happen promptly, he began to look around for her, and that was when he realized she was really and truly missing. Swearing to himself and knocking over several pieces of furniture, he threw some stuff into a bag and prepared to go out and find her, pausing for a brief, happy moment when he heard the doorbell ring. He ran to answer it, thinking that it would be Sophia, coming back and apologizing. But then he sighed deeply when he saw who it really was.

"Hello, AnnaLynne," he huffed. "What do you want?"

"What are you so cranky about?" She asked her brother as she let herself in and sat on his sofa. "Why does everyone always greet me that way?"

"Sorry," he said, his voice short. "I just…I had a bad morning. What brings you here?"

"Well, Daddy won't let me stay with him because I don't like his new girlfriend, and I tried to pick up a guy at a bar, but that didn't work out. So my darling brother would be willing to give me a room right?" She grinned. "Actually, I don't have to have your permission cause this hideout belongs to anyone who wants to come, but…"

"Whatever," Eric shook his head. "Do whatever you want. Just don't sleep in the room with the open door. That's my room."

"All right," AnnaLynne nodded. "Good enough." Then she gave him a salute and he left the house and went in search of Sophia.

* * *

Since she was waiting for it, it wasn't such a shock when Sophia was awakened by the sight of Eric holding a frightened, whimpering man by his hair outside her bedroom window.

"Eric, I don't know what the hell you think you're doing, but stop it!" She cried as she came and looked out. "Put that man down!"

"I will," he replied with a crazy grin. "If you come back home with me. And if you don't, I'll kill him!"

"Or you could _not_ kill him and just leave me alone," Sophia replied. "What makes you think I'll come back with you after how you treated me?"

Eric's grin became a growl, his demon face showing as he squeezed the poor man's neck and made him turn blue. "You have to come home with me," he said between his teeth. "We're linked together forever and I'm not just going to let you go. Forever is a _very_ long time."

"That's true," Sophia nodded. "It's a price I'm not willing to pay."

"Fine," Eric said. "I'm going to pull off this innocent man's head and it's all your fault."

"No, it's not," Sophia shook her head, looking at the man who now hung limp in Eric's grip. "If you pulled off his head, it wouldn't do any good. You've already choked him to death." She got out of bed and strode past him, only pausing to whisper in his ear, "You might want to bury that before it starts to smell. Want me to get you a shovel?"

Eric growled, punched the outside of the house, and, just to make himself feel better, ripped off the man's head as he'd promised, then buried both head and body in Lilith's backyard.


	48. A Party For Peace

Selina was reading out on the penthouse balcony when Dorian came out to meet her, the phone in his hand. "It's dear Amy," he said as she took it from him. "She has a very interesting proposal for you. Please take her up on it.

He grinned to himself and went back inside as a curious Selina put the phone to her ear. "Hello, Amy? What's going on?"

"Hi!" Amy greeted. "I was just telling Dorian about an idea I had. It's no surprise that things haven't been so good since you and Elijah split up. He's mad, the kids are mad, everyone's freaked out and nervous…so why don't we show them that there's nothing to worry about? How would you feel about having a dinner party?"

"It could be interesting," Selina remarked. "Although putting two groups of people who are determined to hate each other in the same room is always a risk."

"That's why we'd keep it small," Amy told her. "So…are you in? Or should we forget about this?"

"Oh, no, I'm in!" Selina leaned forward on the deck chair. "Let's do it!"

"Wonderful!" Amy cried. "Cause I really don't think I'd want to do it alone."

"I agree," Selina told her. "Me either. So do you want to go all out and have formal invitations and everyone dressing up nice and all?"

"Yes," Amy nodded. "I saw this dress on the rack at Mirkin's and I want to buy it and wear it so badly! This could be the perfect occasion."

"Sounds good to me," Selina agreed. "Can't wait to see it." She ended the call and took the phone back into a grinning Dorian.

"So…" he asked, coming up behind her, putting his arms around her waist, and nuzzling her neck. "Are we having a party or what?"

"Yes, we're having a party," Selina nodded. "It's gonna be a really fancy one too. I just hope everyone can behave themselves."

"Well, you know _I_ will," Dorian promised.

"Oh, I'm sure," Selina agreed. "It's really not you I'm worried about." She then took his hand and grinned. "You wanna come with me to my side of the closet and help me pick out a dress to wear? I wanna look hot!"

"Darling, you could wear a paper sack and still look beautiful," Dorian told her. "But yes, of course I'll help you pick out a dress. I know you're just _drowning_ in options."

They ran to her closet and after looking through all the options two or three times, finally decided on a black dress that was off the shoulder with slits up her thighs on both sides.

"Yeah," she smiled as she held it and looked it over. "This is the perfect choice! I'm gonna look awesome!" She looked at Dorian. "So you're gonna be the man in black again?"

"Of course," he nodded and offered her his arm after she put the dress back in the closet, but in a place where she could get at it right away. "I look wonderful in black." Then he chuckled to himself.

"What's so funny?" Selina wanted to know.

"Nothing," Dorian shook his head. "Just…I can't wait to see the look on Elijah's face when Amy gives him the invitation. Do you think he'll come?"

"He probably wouldn't choose to come on his own," Selina replied, biting her lip on a smile. "But I bet Amy will make him."

* * *

"Oh, damn," Elijah screwed up his face when Amy gave him the invitation to the dinner. "Do we _have_ to go? Is this strictly necessary?"

"Yes!" Amy nodded and zapped herself into the dress she bought. "Don't tell me I went to all the trouble to get this and I don't get to wear it cause you're being stubborn."

Elijah looked at what she wore, which was red and sleeves with a layer of lace on top. It stopped just above her knees. "I like it," he told her. "And if you want to wear it, I'd be more than happy to take you out to dinner. Why do you have to wear it just at this party?"

"Because I do!" Amy replied. "I think it's important for us to go, and I'm not going alone. So put on a red tie and suck it up, okay?"

Elijah met her eyes and huffed. "How you managed to have a career running people's lives is beyond me. You're not being very nice about it."

"I don't have to be nice to do my job," Amy remarked as she pushed him toward the closet. "I just have to be effective. Blue suit, red tie. Please?"

"Oh, all right," Elijah agreed. "It'll only be for a few hours. I suppose I can bear it." Then his eye caught another detail on the invitation. "Why is it at Selina and Dorian's? You know they're only doing this to show me up!"

"Now you know that's not true," Amy told him. "Selina and I are doing this to ease the tension that's popped up since the two of you got divorced. It can't go on forever."

"Why not?" Elijah wanted to know.

"Because not only is it driving everyone insane from having to deal with it, but it's just…it's really not healthy harboring all this animosity when you don't need to," Amy explained. "Selina saw that you had troubles and offered to divorce you, even when, for some reason, she wanted to give your relationship another shot. That should be the end of it. You should be ready to move on."

"And how do you think that going to this party will help me do that?" Elijah questioned. "Wouldn't it be better for my moving on if I stayed _away_ from Selina and her new boyfriend?"

"It would, except I know that you'll be more than willing to interact with her when the interaction best serves you," Amy remarked. "Like when it's time to tell your other children what happened between you and Selina, you won't hesitate to drag her over here and say everything you can to make her look bad and turn them all against her, just like you did with Laura."

"And just what is wrong with being honest with everyone about what happened between me and their mother?" Elijah questioned.

"Well, it's not really honesty if you leave out your part in the problem," Amy reminded him. "And knowing you, you probably will."

"Of course!" Elijah nodded. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

Amy rolled her eyes, thinking of Elijah and Selina's children and hoping that at least one of them was smart enough not to fall for Elijah's game. "All right. I'll leave you in here to think of nice and civil things to say when we go to the party. You're gonna need all the rehearsal time you can get."

"Are you saying I don't need to be sincere, just polite?" Elijah questioned.

"I don't care how you are, just don't cause any trouble, okay?" Amy got out and then left him to go walk out in the sunshine.

* * *

The day of the party, AnnaLynne decided to go back to her father's apartment for a visit and apologize for how she'd treated Selina before.

"I'm not sure if I believe you," Dorian told her. "But if you really _are_ sincere about this, you should be apologizing to Selina, not to me."

"But what if she doesn't want to talk to me?" AnnaLynne wanted to know.

"She will," Dorian assured her. "She'll probably be much more forgiving than you deserve. But she's out at the moment, so you'll have to wait for her to come back."

"Where'd she go?" AnnaLynne questioned.

"We're having a party tonight to help everyone get along cause things haven't exactly gone well since Selina and her husband put their divorce in motion," Dorian explained.

"Oh, a party?" AnnaLynne's eyes lit up. "Can I come? Will there be any chairs left? I haven't eaten well in a while."

"If Selina gives you permission, you may come to the party," Dorian agreed. "But we'll need to find you a dress. You can't show up in jean shorts and a t-shirt."

This was addressed when Selina returned. She wasn't _quite_ certain of the sincerity of AnnaLynne's apology, but she didn't have the heart to turn her away since it was just for the evening and then she would leave again.

They went to Selina's closet and AnnaLynne's eyes zeroed in on an animal print dress that had three different colors on it: blue by the straps and just below them, red at the waist and trailing down over the bodice, and white underneath that. "What do you think?" She asked and held it up against her. "Would this look good on me?"

"Sure, you can give it a shot," Selina nodded. "I'm not sure how it will fit you, though."

"Don't worry," AnnaLynne smiled. "I can adjust it. And I promise to get it back to normal once I'm done with it."

"All right," Selina nodded. "Good." She paused. "Just a question: what made you pick that dress?"

AnnaLynne chuckled. "I got a look at the guest list before we came in here and I noticed that a certain werewolf that I have my eye on will be attending. I want to make a vivid impression on him."

"Oh, dear, she's going after Klaus," Selina whispered to herself. "I don't know who I should be more worried for: her or him."

* * *

That night, Amy and the caterers arrived right on schedule and they got everything set up just in time for people to start arriving.

"I wish that had taken longer," Amy remarked, taking Selina's hand as they made their way to the door to let everyone in. "That way, I would have something to distract my mind other than worrying if everyone was just going to be picking fights right and left. Elijah promised he'd behave himself, but you never know."

"Dorian promised to be civil as well," Selina nodded. "Let's just hope they keep their word."

When everyone was sitting around the table and the food was being served, Selina surveyed the scene with satisfaction: Elijah was just staring at his plate and not saying a word while looking spiffy as usual, Amy looked lovely in her red dress, Roxie, to her surprise, was wearing a simple but lovely dark blue dress with cap sleeves, which matched with Klaus' blue tie (They'd come together, which was probably a very good thing; Selina was pretty sure things wouldn't have gone well if Klaus had come alone.) Everyone looked good, but she and Dorian, she thought to herself as he grinned and kissed her hand, looked the best.

"Who's the empty chair for?" Klaus asked as he eyed the empty chair across from him. "Who else is coming?"

"My daughter, AnnaLynne," Dorian told him. "She's upstairs changing. I can't imagine what's taking her so long."

At this, Klaus' eyes widened and he got up to run away, but Roxie pulled him back down. "Daddy, what is the matter with you?" She admonished.

"Nothing!" Klaus told her, although inside, he was panicking. "I just…I just needed to make a run to the bathroom."

"Ah," Roxie nodded. "Sorry, carry on."

Klaus had just gotten to his feet again when AnnaLynne strode into the room. "Sorry I'm late," she remarked. "It was a bitch trying to find the right shoes to go with this outfit." She then ran over to Klaus, a wide smile on her lips.

"Well, hello there," she grinned. "No one said that you would be here. This is a nice surprise! And look, we get to sit right across from each other! It must be my lucky day!" She took her seat and rested her elbows on the table and her chin on top of her hands, watching as the conversation flowed all around her, starting when Elijah noticed Selina's ruby bracelet.

"How nice," Elijah remarked dryly as he took her hand and removed the bracelet to study it closer. "I bet it's fake." He scoffed at it like he'd scoffed at her dress, probably thinking that she was being petty and transparent. Maybe she was, but she didn't feel bad about it, cause he was too.

"It's not," Roxie shook her head. "That thing's as real as they come. You think a guy would give someone he loves a fake engagement token?"

"Why are you on the side of a man who wants to kill us?" Klaus questioned. " _Why_?"

"I like him," Roxie replied. "I don't hold grudges like you do."

"Oh, you like him, do you?" Klaus huffed. "Do you like him better than your own father? You wanna go live with him now?"

"No, that's not what I said!" Roxie corrected while trying to remain calm. "I'm just saying that you and Uncle Elijah are making a big fuss over nothing and it's very shocking! You treated each other better when you saw Mom as someone standing between you, and Amy too, than you're treating Dorian now. I really don't get it!"

"Just let me reiterate: he's plotting to _kill us_!" Klaus repeated. "I think that entitles me to be less than courteous if I want to."

"Actually, I have no plans to kill anyone who just stays out of my way, but I don't think that's your plan, is it?" Dorian asked.

"Wait a minute!" AnnaLynne broke into all the bickering and then caught Roxie's eye. "Did you say that your mother was in a relationship with both your father _and_ your uncle? And Amy too? Oh, this family sounds like fun! I want in!" She scooted up her chair and grinned widely at Klaus as she kicked off her shoes under the table and rubbed his leg with her bare foot, moving upward ever so slowly until she was rubbing a much more intimate place and Klaus was as red as a lobster. "Except," she assured him all the while, "I wouldn't cheat on you. I promise."

"Daddy, what's going on?" Roxie asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Klaus tried to keep his breathing steady. "I'll be fine."

"Do you need some water?" Selina asked, frowning as she finally snatched her bracelet out of Elijah's grip and put it back on. "Cause I can get you some water."

"No, I'm truly…." Klaus let out a breath and shut his eyes tight. "Truly all right." Just when he thought he would go mad, AnnaLynne finally moved her foot and giggled as he shot her a murderous glance and mouthed 'I'm going to kill you'."

AnnaLynne stuck out her tongue in response but behaved herself the rest of the time, even offering to help Selina bring in and serve dessert. "What is this stuff, anyway?" She asked as she stared at the dome-shaped jiggly things covered in caramel sauce that Selina and the chef were pulling out of the refrigerator.

"It's flan," Selina replied. "It might look strange, but it's very tasty. I think you'll like it. I know I do."

"All right," AnnaLynne nodded and poked at one of plates of flan, shaking her head as it bounced and jiggled.

"How about that one is yours?" Selina suggested.

"All right," AnnaLynne agreed as they and the chef brought everyone their dessert and hoped that no one would find anything else to fight about.


	49. The Party's Over

As Selina sat the flan down, AnnaLynne decided to offer a help. "Isn't this dessert great?" She smiled. "How can you hate it when it jiggles so much?" She smiled and poked at it, but no one shared her enthusiasm. Instead, they just shoveled it into their faces and didn't say a word.

When all the plates were empty, Dorian stood up and cleared his throat. "All right," he remarked. "Why don't the gentlemen join me in the library for an after dinner cigar, and ladies, Selina has coffee or sherry for you in the solarium."

This last activity had been Dorian's bright idea and Selina was still nervous as hell about him and Elijah being in the same room, even though they'd behaved themselves up to that point, with Dorian even refusing to take Elijah's bait regarding the fake ring remark. She sat on the edge of her seat drinking her coffee, and it was almost a relief to her nerves when she heard the crash coming from the direction of the library.

"Oh, god, do you think that means that Dorian and either Dad, Uncle Elijah, or all three, are fighting?" Roxie asked as she pulled out her phone. "I knew I should have brought Vince with me even though he had those extra special cars to work on at the garage tonight! He even offered to come, but I told him everything would be fine! Good thing he was more suspicious than I was and told me to call him if anything went wrong."

"Will it do any good to call him?" Amy questioned.

"Yeah," Roxie nodded. "The garage is just down the street. He'll get here in no time."

Thankfully she was right about this and once she had finished her call to her husband, it wasn't too long before a breathless Vince charged his way through the door and asked, "Okay, where are they?"

"Library," Selina pointed. "Just follow the sounds of crashing and yelling and you'll find them."

When they got to the library, they were relieved to discover that aside from a few overturned chairs and a table, the library was in relatively neat shape, considering what was going on. Elijah and Dorian, however, were another story. They were just pounding on one another while Klaus (of course), cheered from the sidelines.

"Why the hell aren't you stopping this?" Selina asked him. "What in the world happened?"

Klaus shrugged. "Elijah took it upon himself to give that Dorian a good punch in the jaw and who am I to stop him?"

"Oh, that's the stupidest thing he could have done!" Selina huffed as she and Vince worked on pulling Dorian and Elijah apart. When they'd been separated, she frowned at her bloody and bruised soon-to-be-ex. "I hope you don't expect me to feel bad for you if you started all this trouble," she said. "Cause I don't."

"I wouldn't ask you to because it's obvious who you're siding with now," Elijah spat, narrowing his eyes at her. The mood sufficiently broken, everyone decided it would be best to end the party as fast as possible, while being grateful that things went well for as long as they did.

* * *

"I am so sorry about all this," Amy apologized to Dorian as she tried to herd an angry Elijah to the door because his anger had resurfaced and now all he wanted to do was continue beating on Dorian, even though he knew that would be his battle to lose. "He really promised he'd behave himself and I was foolish enough to believe him."

"Don't be mad at me, Amy!" Elijah cried, gnashing his teeth and looking more like animal than man. " _He_ was the one who started it."

"I don't want to hear about it," Amy told him firmly. "We can talk about it in the car. About how humiliated you made me feel tonight when all I wanted was to have a nice evening with the people I love most. But apparently, that's too much to ask for." As she pushed Elijah to the car, she made a note to herself. She had to get out. Things with Klaus had been bad, but this wasn't much better. She'd exchanged one terrible situation for another. But she wouldn't stay in this one as long. She'd learned her lesson. She'd have to call Savannah, and soon. Or maybe immediately, so she wouldn't be tempted to stay when it really wasn't right for her.

* * *

When she and Elijah got home, he stomped off to their bedroom, slamming the door as Amy sat down at the kitchen table with some tea and called Savannah.

"How was the party?" Her and Klaus' oldest daughter asked. "Good? Successful? Did Dad behave himself?"

"Your father was as well-behaved as can be expected," Amy sighed. "Surprisingly, it wasn't him that was the problem. It was your uncle."

"Uncle Elijah? Really?" Savannah asked. "Why would he cause trouble?"

"Well, he's mad about Selina and Dorian being in a relationship, and of course he hates Dorian because Dorian might kill everyone…sigh. Not that Selina and I were expecting perfect behavior, but you would think Elijah could pull it together for one night."

"Not that I think it's any of my business, but…why did you think it would be a good idea to be with Uncle Elijah in the first place?" Savannah questioned.

"I thought he would be like Jonathan and I could be with someone who didn't bring me to the edge of my sanity every night," Amy sighed. "I guess I was wrong."

"So are you going to leave?" Savannah questioned. "Please tell me you are."

"That's exactly why I'm calling," Amy assured her. "I was wondering if I could come stay with you and Jonathan until I could find a place of my own. Or would that be too much of an inconvenience?"

"Of course not!" Savannah assured her. "We'd love to have you. Are you planning on driving here yourself or do you want us to come and get you?"

"No, you don't have to come and get me," Amy assured her. "I'll drive myself. There's just one more big thing I need to do before I come."

"All right," Savannah said. "We'll have a room ready for you. And Mom…you're doing the right thing. I really think you are."

"I know," Amy replied. "Thank you so much for your help, sweetheart." She then ended the call and grinned to herself. Like she'd told Savannah, she was serious about leaving Elijah, but she wanted to go out with a bang and make sure that he knew exactly what he'd pushed away. She undressed in the hallway by their bedroom and strode in completely naked.

Elijah was reading a book, and she wasted no time snatching it out of his hand. He was momentarily irritated, but his protestations died on his lips when he looked up and saw her.

"Oh, my god," he got out. "What…why? I thought you'd be too mad at me to let me see anything like this."

"I _am_ mad at you," Amy said, pulling off his pants and boxers before straddling him and unbuttoning his shirt. "But you can be extremely mad at someone and still want to have sex with them. The anger makes it hotter, doesn't it?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded, feeling like something was being pulled over on him, but too aroused to do anything about it. "Yes, it does." He then moaned as Amy bent her head and kissed down his bare chest, although it was the smell of her hair that aroused him more. As she rode him hard and felt him fill her completely, he reached up to run his hands over her stomach and cup her breasts, gently squeezing them. "If you get tired, I would be more than willing to switch places with you," he grinned.

"Oh, no thank you," Amy panted, using her powers to move his hands from her chest to over his head so that he couldn't take control of the situation from her. "I'm doing just fine." She then nibbled on his earlobe and blew in his ear, then released one of his hands, taking it and sucking gently on one of his fingers.

"You're killing me," he whispered. "You really are."

"Don't worry," Amy gave him a smile and leaned forward a little bit after letting his hand go. "You won't have to deal with that for much longer, I promise."

* * *

Seeing how mortified Amy was by Elijah's behavior made Dorian just assume that Selina would feel the same way toward him. He found her doing some reading in the now clean library, and stood over the sofa, waiting for her to look up at him before he leaned down to kiss her gently. "I am so sorry about how I behaved," he said. "I didn't mean to ruin your party. I know you and Amy wanted everyone to get along tonight."

"Well, if you're not the one who started the fight, which I assume you're not, why would I be mad at you?" Selina questioned. "What made you hit him? Was it a crack about my ring? Did he call me a whore? Did it have something to do with you instead of me?"

"No, he just…it was like he'd been holding it all inside and it just gushed out, leading him to punch me in the face. And soon, it was just back and forth, hitting, punching, swearing…I tried to stop, but I just…I couldn't let him have the last word." He took Selina in his arms and kissed her forehead. "If you and Vince hadn't pulled us apart, we probably wouldn't have a library anymore."

"Do you think it would have been that bad?" Selina grinned. "I don't think it would have been that bad."

"I'm not so sure about that," Dorian replied. "Elijah seemed pretty determined to get all his anger out, and it seems there was a lot in him."

"Oh, I'm sure," Selina nodded. "But let's…let's not think about him anymore. Unless you want to. But I didn't think you would."

"Of course not," Dorian grinned. "Not if you have better ideas, and I'm sure you do."

Selina put her book down, got up from the sofa, and pulled him after her by his tie until they reached the bedroom, then undressed him except for his tie, and gestured to the bed. He got in and grinned as he watched her strip down and do a little dance while singing.

By the time she joined him in bed, they were both laughing so hard that they couldn't even pause to kiss.

Then, Selina hit him in the face with one of the throw pillows and he paused, narrowing his eyes. She gulped, thinking that maybe, for once, she'd gone too far. He leaned forward and she sank deeper and deeper into his dark gaze before he grabbed her and kissed her hard, then began tickling her as he cried out, "Yes! Revenge!"

"Oh, my god!" Selina told him, grinning widely when she could get a breath. "You're such a goof! You know that, right?"

"I do," Dorian nodded.

They then stared into each other's eyes before Selina leaned forward and kissed him lightly then pulled away and kissed him again, much deeper and longer, as if she wanted to devour him.

He grabbed her arms and then slowly slid his hands down them, taking her hands and holding them tight as he kissed her forehead and cheeks, then urged her on her back on the mattress so he had easier access to her neck and collarbone. He gently sucked on each nipple and then her hips bucked a little as he ran his tongue around her belly button. He then let go of her hands to run his hands down her sides and her hips, then gently cupped and stroked her bottom as she moaned in response to his light and gentle touching.

Everywhere his fingers went, Selina also felt a tingle between her legs as if that part of her was jealous that it wasn't being touched too. She began to feel hot everywhere, and as he nibbled on her neck, she whispered, "Okay, that's enough. I'm going crazy. You know where you have to go next, right?"

"Oh, yes," Dorian grinned and entered her a little ways before pulling out, then pushing in again over and over as Selina clutched the mattress and cried out with each thrust.

"There you go," she nodded. "That…that's much better!"

They went on this way for some time, then they both paused and he pulled her close and kissed her, burying himself deep again as he ran his hand over her lower back.

"I like that," she smiled. "Keep doing it."

"All right," he agreed and kissed her hair. "I will."

* * *

As Klaus drove back to his house, he stopped at a stoplight and then swore and hit the horn as AnnaLynne popped up out of the backseat, put her arms around his shoulders, and whispered, "Thanks for the lift!" She then got in the passenger seat and buckled herself in. "You know," she looked around with appreciation at the red leather interior of Klaus' car. "This is very good planning. I bet you could put a body in here and you wouldn't even have to worry about the blood showing!"

"You're a real freak, you know that?" Klaus grinned.

"Oh, yes," AnnaLynne nodded and grabbed his thigh, giving it a squeeze. She heard Klaus' breathing pick up and whispered, "You know, if you pull over on the side of the road, I can touch you somewhere else. Would you like that?"

"Damn you," Klaus whispered and did just that as he noticed that she had exchanged Selina's dress for a tiny black leather skirt and a tight, low-cut red shirt. "Damn you!" He pulled off on the shoulder and took her in his arms as he heard her unzip his pants.

It didn't take long for Klaus to realize what was happening and push her away, though.

"So much for me not being your type," she sassed him.

"That doesn't prove anything," Klaus told her. "It's been so long that I would have reacted that way if I was touched by anyone. Don't think it makes you special."

"You just keep telling yourself that," AnnaLynne chuckled and watched intently as he re-zipped his pants. "Just so I can prepare myself for when you finally give into me in the future, cause we both know you will, how big would you say you are?"

Klaus snorted. "You really think I'd tell you something like that?"

"Well, sometimes a girl wants to know," AnnaLynne grinned. "So answer the question."

"You know, I'd rather just drive you home," Klaus replied and started the car. "Now tell me, where do we go from here?"

"Do you trust me to be honest with directions?" AnnaLynne wanted to know.

"No, not really," Klaus shook his head. "But know that if you're thinking of staying with me, I'm going to make you clean again. And sleep on the sofa."

"Ugh," AnnaLynne rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll give you the directions to Eric's. But you were much more fun two seconds ago. That's for sure."


	50. Hitting A Reef

It was while Elijah was at work that Amy called Savannah and was assured that she could come whenever she wanted and a room would be waiting for her at her daughter's house. So after she ended the call, she thought about leaving Elijah a note before she left, but chose not to. She just got in her car and drove to Savannah's house as fast as she legally could.

When Savannah opened the door in response to her mother's knock, Amy hugged her hard.

"Oh, my god," Savannah said. "Just how bad were things with Uncle Elijah? Don't tell me he hurt you."

"No," Amy shook her head as she collapsed on the sofa and Jonathan went out to get her bags. "That's not why I left, don't worry. It was because he was being a pain in the ass."

"And you're just realizing that now?" Savannah questioned. "I could have told you he was before the two of you ever got involved and saved you a whole lot of trouble."

"Yeah, maybe that would have been a good idea," Amy nodded. "Maybe if I hadn't been so desperate for a place to be after your dad and I split up, I would have seen the problems more clearly."

"Oh, now, don't blame yourself," Jonathan came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone does things that they regret. I know I do. But you can't let it keep you down like this."

"I know," Amy nodded. "I…what can I do to stop myself from making bad choices like this? Should I just try and be alone for a while? It's weird: I can confidently tell everyone how to run their lives, but when it comes to my own…I have no idea what the hell I'm doing."

"Well, that's fine," Jonathan told her. "You have plenty of time to figure it out, and we'll be here to help you."

"Yeah," Savannah nodded. "Of course we will."

"You might not have as much time as you think," Amy told them. "I bet Elijah will pitch a fit and come looking for me when he finds out I'm gone."

"Well, if he does," Jonathan remarked, hugging her protectively, "we'll make sure he doesn't get to you. We promise."

"Good," Amy smiled. "I feel better already."

* * *

In the middle of one of her classes, Selina was interrupted when Astrid poked her head in the door, a grave look on her face. "Can we talk?" She asked. "Please?"

"All right," Selina nodded and excused herself, leaving the room and following Astrid to the presently vacated principal's office. "What's the matter? By the look on your face, something is wrong, right?"

"Exactly," Astrid nodded. "But I'm going to give you a chance to explain yourself before I do what I have to do. Tell me, are you involved with a demon who wants to destroy everyone?"

"Well, I suppose you could say that I am, but really, Dorian only is going to destroy people who get in his way!" Selina exclaimed. "And if you're not dumb enough to do that, he'll leave you alone."

"So you _are_ with him?" Astrid asked. "Would you be willing to break it off?"

"No!" Selina shook her head. "I love him! Why would I need to break it off?"

"It's just that I'm very concerned about what this relationship will do to your loyalties, and if it will jeopardize our students' safety," Astrid explained. "And with that being the case, if you don't want to end the relationship, I'm afraid I'm going to have to let you go."

"What?" Selina's jaw dropped. "Are you sure? How do you know about me and Dorian? Did Elijah tell you? Of course he would," she scoffed. "He's been a petty, spiteful idiot ever since I initiated our divorce before he could!"

"Yes, Elijah _did_ mention it," Astrid sighed. "And I'm glad he did."

"And so you're just gonna hang me out to dry now after all we've been through over the years?" Selina questioned. "What happened to giving people second chances? I thought you were all about that."

"And normally, I am," Astrid nodded. "But it was because of all the second chances I gave that people's confidence in my leadership abilities is always iffy. So now, I'm leaning a little on their side."

Then an idea popped into Selina's head. "I understand that, but do you really think it's the best idea to let me go?" She asked. "I mean, Dorian's wish is truly to leave people alone and work alongside them. Especially the witches. As Hazel's creation and part of a group she made up to keep vampires and werewolves under control, I'm sure he wouldn't be overly eager to kill you all. And he'd be glad you let me stay."

"I don't know about this," Astrid told her. "I know how desperately you don't want to leave, but I still see you as a risk."

"Why?" Selina asked, leaning forward. "Like I said, he doesn't want to go out of his way to hurt people," she assured Astrid. "If I asked him to spare you and the people at this school, I bet he would. I could be an agent of safety, not destruction."

"No," Astrid shook her head. "I can't do it." Then she narrowed her eyes. "What you just said, was that a threat? Are you doing to tell Dorian to destroy this school and everyone in it if I don't keep you on as a teacher? Cause that would only illustrate why I think it's necessary to fire you in the first place."

"I don't know," Selina replied, her voice cold as she got to her feet. "I wouldn't want to risk your safety, even though you're such a fair weather friend. I wasn't threatening anyone, but I suppose you'll think what you want. Is my firing official as of now? Should I get off the premises before you have security drag me out?"

"I shouldn't have to drag you out if you leave quietly," Astrid told her. "Do you have someone to take you home?"

"Don't you worry about me," Selina spat. "I can handle myself. And I don't feel bad for loving Dorian. Not at all. In fact, your reaction to the news just tells me what a good choice I made, and that he's the only one who's ever really cared for me." She grabbed her purse and stormed out of the room while Astrid sighed, ran her fingers through her blonde hair, and went to tell the kids Selina had been teaching that they needed to go to study hall instead.

* * *

"You were _fired_?" Dorian asked as he drove Selina home. "Why would they do that? Was it because you were bad at your job?"

"No," Selina scoffed. "It was because Elijah told Astrid about our being together and she saw me as a threat to the school and everyone in it because she questioned my loyalties and my ability to stay good when I'm tempted with so much darkness." She looked at him. "You wouldn't want me to be super dark, would you?"

"I want you to be however you're comfortable being," Dorian replied. "If you want to go on a murder spree, that's fine with me. If you want to be good and virtuous, that's all right too. It's not my place to tell you any different. What kind of idiot would think they could?"

"Every guy I've ever been with, to some extent," Selina replied. "The guy who turned me…he wanted me to be a killer, so he would starve me for a few days at a time, then he'd bring in homeless men off the streets, set me on them, and watch me feed until they were all dead."

"Oh, that's awful!" Dorian winced and took a hand off the steering wheel to place on her arm. "Well, I wouldn't do that to you. You can be sure of that."

"I know," Selina grabbed his hand and kissed the palm. "That's why when Astrid told me I could keep my job if I ended things with you, I basically told her to fuck off." She paused. "I didn't use that language, of course, but basically, if anyone asks me to choose between you and them, I'm picking you every time because I'm someone you value as a person, not just as a part of some agenda. I'm sick of being treated like that."

"I'm very touched," Dorian told her. "Not that I expected anything different from you. But it's nice to hear that when it came time to prove your devotion, you did it without hesitation."

"Of course," Selina grinned.

* * *

When they got home, Dorian poured her a drink and asked, "What would you like me to do about your firing? Would you like me to go down there and have a word with those fools?"

"No, of course not," Selina shook her head. "If they don't want me cause they feel they can't trust me, that's their problem and I'm not gonna try and force myself to be where I'm clearly not wanted."

"All right," Dorian nodded. "That's a very healthy way of looking at things. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks!" Selina grinned at him. "Now, why don't we focus on something happier? Like our wedding? Or is it too soon to think about that? Do demons believe in long engagements or what?"

"No," Dorian shook his head. "Long engagements aren't customary in the demon world. We know who we want and then we make it happen. But _our_ engagement is not a typical one, so I think it would be best if it _did_ last a little longer than normal."

"Why?" Selina questioned.

"Well, as you know, I'm demon royalty, basically," Dorian told her. "As you will be once we're wed. And I think that before our marriage, you should take some time to get to know the demon community. To get comfortable with them and give them a chance to be comfortable with you."

"And do you think that will happen?" Selina asked. "Will they be able to tolerate bringing a non-demon into their midst?"

"Of course," Dorian nodded. "There won't be any problems there."

"Good," Selina nodded. "Cause I was a bit nervous about that to tell you the truth."

Dorian smiled at her, taking her in his arms and pulling her close. "You should never be nervous around me," he told her. "Because I'll always have your back, I promise. Will you remember that?"

"Yes," Selina kissed him and ran her fingers through his dark hair. "I will, I promise."

* * *

Considering Selina's problems, Klaus' seemed relatively minor, but that didn't matter to him. He woke up at noon the next day and after he got out of bed and was heading to the shower when his phone, that was on his bedside table, buzzed. Curious, he went to see what the call was about and started violently when he found himself looking at a shameless, naked picture of AnnaLynne.

"What the hell?" He yelled and threw the phone down on the floor. He took a deep breath, gave himself time to adjust, then slowly picked the phone up again and gave the image another look. She was actually very pretty when she wasn't yammering on and giving him trouble. She'd sent him this to rattle him no doubt, and was expecting an irate phone call or text in return. And he'd give it to her…right after he savored her image in the shower.

After he'd gotten out, dressed, and dried his hair, he picked up his phone and checked it to see if she'd called to give him any follow-up conversation to the naked photo, but she hadn't. He waited and waited, stomping around his room as he listened for the buzz of his phone.

When he heard nothing after half an hour or so, he began to grow impatient, and even though he knew it would make him look somewhat desperate and invite her to make some childish remarks, he decided to call her and ask just what the hell she'd meant by sending him that photo.

His question was met with a cute and perky giggle on the other side of the line. "I wondered when you were going to see that photo and call me about it," she remarked. "What took you so long?"

"I was in the shower," Klaus replied.

"Oh, good!" AnnaLynne cried. "It went to good use, then. Right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Klaus replied, his tone as stiff as another part of him had been in the shower not too long before.

"You can't lie to me, you know," AnnaLynne told him in a more serious voice. "I know when you're trying to hide something. Why can't you just admit that I make you feel things and that there's nothing wrong with that? Why are you so bullheaded?"

"Why am _I_ that?" Klaus asked. "You're the one who should be asking yourself that question. You're the one who can't take 'No' for an answer!"

"I would, but I sense that if I actually left you alone like I wanted you to, you wouldn't be able to handle it," AnnaLynne guessed. "I'd be right, wouldn't I? You can go on and on all you want about hating the attention I give you, but secretly you love it. It fuels your giant ego now that you've lost yet another wife to your brother."

"Don't talk about that!" Klaus ordered. "It's not any of your business!"

"Fine, I won't!" AnnaLynne assured him. "I was just trying to help."

"Well, if you wanna help, don't talk about that, okay?" Klaus snapped.

"You'll let me help you?" AnnaLynne asked in surprise. "You'll really let me in? Are you serious?"

"Maybe," Klaus replied. "Let's start with phone conversations and see where it goes from there."

"And I bet you wouldn't mind if I sent you naughty pictures and messages too, right?" AnnaLynne surmised.

"Oh, if you feel you have to," Klaus told her. "I guess I can accept them. I'd have no other choice, would I?"

"No," AnnaLynne confirmed. "Not really."

* * *

After Sophia's lack of fear at his display when he visited her, Eric was feeling wounded. He needed to get it off his mind. Go somewhere where he could feel powerful…while at the same time, have access to someone who could get Sophia to like him again.

That place, was his demon gym. He strode inside and hit the counter several times until Patrick, who was reading a magazine, looked up. "Yes?" He asked dryly. "You banged?"

"You and I need to talk," Eric told him. "Let's go to your office."

"You want to talk to me?" Patrick asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why? I'm not fired, am I?"

"No, you're not fired," Eric shook his head. "What I want to talk to you about has nothing to do with your work status. Can we please go to your office now?"

"All right," Patrick nodded and went to tell someone else that he was stepping away so they could man the counter for a bit.

They then went into Patrick's office and locked and closed the door behind them. Patrick took a seat at his desk, then offered Eric a chair.

"No, thanks," Eric shook his head. "I prefer to stand." But instead of standing, he paced restlessly around the room, his eyes locked on the floor.

"Are you going to tell me what your problem is, or do I just get to watch you pace until you wear a hole in my carpet?" Patrick questioned at last.

"No, I have something I actually wanted to discuss, but…" Patrick looked at the cream colored carpet with distaste. "If there was a hole in this, it wouldn't be a tragedy."

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Patrick asked. "I can't be away from the desk for too long."

"All right," Eric nodded. "I just…Sophia and I are having problems and I wondered if you could help me out with her."

Of all the things Eric could have asked him, this wasn't what Patrick expected, although it shouldn't have surprised him. "You want me to give you advice about how to make Sophia like you again?" Patrick got out. "Is that it?"

"Yeah," Eric nodded. "Why do you seem so surprised? You had to have seen it coming."

"I mean, I supposed I suspected, " Patrick conceded. "But since Sophia is my niece, I wasn't sure if you would want to ask my help or not."

"Well, I am, so will you give it to me?" Eric asked.

"I'm not sure," Patrick replied. "I already work for a demon. It might be too much to ask me to be _friends_ with you too."

"I don't mean we should be friends," Eric told him. "I just want…" He paused and shook his head. "No, you know what? Never mind, you're right. You're so loyal to Sophia that you probably wouldn't be any help to me anyway. In fact, you'd probably make things worse for me." He pointed out the office door. "We're done here. You can go back to work."

"Great!" Patrick got up out of his chair. "Glad to know I won't have to be any more mixed up in this demon mess than I already am." He made his way to the door, and then paused and looked back. "Tell me something before I go, though: what's wrong with Sophia? Why are you making such trouble for her when all she wants (for some reason that I have yet to figure out) is to be with you? What's the problem? Don't you love her?"

This brought Eric's head up. His eyes were wide and he looked ready to bolt like a startled deer. "I-I-I-" he began stuttering.

Patrick stepped away from the door and stood in front of him. "I'm not leaving until you answer the question. It shouldn't be difficult."

"Oh, but it is!" Eric cried out, his voice unsteady. "I want to love Sophia. I really do. I even thought I did when I brought her to the hideout. But apparently, I was wrong. Apparently, I don't know how to love well at all. Sophia showed me that."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Patrick asked. "Did you want me to come up with a solution for you?"

"I don't know what I want," Eric shook his head. "But keep it in the back of your mind, will you?"


	51. For Her Benefit

Selina was gently awakened by being tickled and opened her heavy eyes. "What?" She asked. "What's going on? What time is it?" She rolled over onto her stomach and squinted at the clock. "Five in the morning?" She glowered at Dorian. "You better either want sex, or there should be some fire I'm not aware of. Otherwise, I'm going back to sleep. I'm _not_ a morning person!" She flopped back onto her pillow and Dorian, who was already dressed, turned her over and blew on her stomach so that she let out a cry. "All right, you can stay in bed if you want to, but I thought I would start your introduction to the demon world today. And I promise what you'll see is well worth the early wake up time."

That made Selina sit up. "You work? Like, at a job? What does a demon do?" Suddenly not tired anymore, she dressed (in knee-length black skirt, white blouse, and purple short sleeved jacket at Dorian's suggestion), and then ran out of the room, with Dorian chuckling as he followed behind her at a much slower pace, very gratified by how excited she was about seeing this part of his life.

* * *

Dorian drove in the slow, light, early morning traffic while Selina caught some last minute shut-eye in the passenger's seat beside him, until they reached a large sky scraper and Dorian left his car in the hands of the people who took care of valet parking. He grabbed Selina's hand and led her inside the building, pausing briefly as the two of them were greeted by the smiling doorman, getting in the elevator and going up to the thirteenth floor, which housed a real estate business.

"Interesting," Selina remarked. "Real estate. What are you building?"

Dorian smiled. "That's what I want to show you." They paused in front of the receptionist, who smiled at the sight of them. "Hello, Mr. Gray," she said, pushing some of her dark hair out of her eyes as they traveled to Selina. "And Miss Warren. We were told you were coming today. It's so nice that you're here!"

"Well, thank you," Selina smiled.

"I know it's early," The receptionist continued, getting to her feet. Some would have described her as plus-sized, but she wore a pink dress that fit her wonderfully. "I know it's early, so…would you like some coffee?"

"Oh, thank you," Selina nodded. "I had some help from adrenaline when Dorian told me I was coming here to see what he did with himself, but now it's beginning to wear off." As if to illustrate this, she gave a big yawn.

The receptionist smiled. "I know what you mean. I'm not really a morning person, either." She held out her hand. "My name's Jeannette, by the way. How do you take your coffee?"

"It's lovely to meet you," Selina smiled back and gave her hand a squeeze. "And in my coffee, I like milk and a little cream."

"Excellent," Jeannette nodded. "Can do."

"Can I ask you something?" Selina questioned.

"Sure," Jeannette nodded, her eyes large and blue underneath her pink and purple framed glasses. "What?"

"Could you tell me where you got your dress?" Selina asked. "Cause I really like it!"

"It's wonderful, isn't it?" Jeannette nodded. "Corsair's down on Fifth. You been?"

"Oh, yeah!" Selina enthused. "I love that store!"

They talked about clothes for a little while longer and then Jeannette excused herself to go back to her desk while Selina joined Dorian by his office door. He had an amused smile on his face and Selina wanted to know why.

"I'm just pleased you're already making friends with demons," Dorian told her. "This'll be easy for you. Not that I expected anything different."

"What?" Selina turned and gazed at Jeannette at her desk. " _She's_ a demon? No! You're making that up!"

"I'm not," Dorian pulled her to him. "It's one of the requirements of working here."

"So you just brought me here to show me what you're doing and that's it?" Selina asked. "Then you're gonna bring me home and never tell me another word about it cause I'm not a demon?"

"Oh, no, of course not!" Dorian urged her into his office and asked her to sit in his high back brown leather chair and let her put her coffee down. "I want this to be a project that we both work on." He rolled out some blue prints in front of her and she saw what looked like a night club.

"Really?" Selina gazed at him. "A night club? Interesting! Is it for demons only?"

"No, that'll be the interesting thing. It's for all species to mingle: witches, werewolves, vampires, demons too, of course. It's a way to show that despite what some might think, I don't just mean everyone harm."

"That's great!" Selina smiled. "Kind of like that stupid school I got fired from, but more fun." Then she asked, how will we work on this together?"

"Well, as you can tell, I don't necessarily have the hippest decorating sense so that I thought that maybe it could be your job to be the interior designer," Dorian suggested. "Would you be willing to do that? I would give you the funds, of course."

"Would I?" Selina smiled and stood up, throwing her arms around him and giving him a hug and a kiss. "I would _love_ to!"

* * *

With Amy gone, Klaus had completely lost the motivation to do much of anything. The only time he felt truly alive was when AnnaLynne called and bugged him. Otherwise, he just walked around the house and drank. This was exactly what he was doing when the loud honk of a motorcycle horn startled him and made him drop his beer bottle so that it shattered and beer sprayed everywhere.

Cursing and trying to avoid cutting his bare feet on the glass as he cleaned up the mess, he looked up when he heard a voice.

"Hi, Klaus! I got a new motorcycle! Wanna come for a ride?"

He frowned as he looked up and saw AnnaLynne smiling at him and clutching a helmet. "I might have known that was you just as my beer bottle shattered and everything sprayed all over the floor."

"Sorry about that," AnnaLynne said. "Why don't you put some shoes on and come see my bike? It's new and full of power!" She grinned. "You like having power, right? Well, come with me. And if you're nice, I might even let you drive a little."

"Oh, I hate you!" He narrowed his eyes. "That is just mean!" He went and got dressed, but took his time on purpose so that she would be kept waiting. Putting her on _his_ schedule was somewhat satisfying. But when he returned, he found her lounging on his sofa and grinning.

"You're still here!" He cried. "I thought you would have gotten bored and left by now."

"No, not really," AnnaLynne shook her blonde head. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I really want us to do this together so I wouldn't run out on you even if you want me to. Let's go out to my bike now, shall we? I don't want to waste any more time."

When they got out to the bike, AnnaLynne handed him the helmet and he got on while she sat behind him. "I'm going to have to hold onto your waist so I don't fall," she remarked. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Yes, actually, I do mind!" Klaus said. "But I can't stop you, so what's the point in complaining?"

"Good," AnnaLynne grinned. "You're finally learning. Do you know how to drive one of these things?"

"Yes," Klaus assured her as the motorcycle roared to life. "Don't worry about that."

They drove around for a little bit and then AnnaLynne whispered in Klaus' ear. "Okay, now I'm going to tell you where I want you to go. Listen carefully, because with where we're going, it's easy to get lost."

Klaus listened to the directions she gave and soon they were parked on a mountaintop, overlooking a spectacular view. They got off the bike and then went to sit on the edge, hand in hand, not speaking as they took in the view.

Then, Klaus caught AnnaLynne's eye and asked, "So…what's it like in the demon world?"

"I'm not telling you unless you want to know," AnnaLynne replied without looking at him. "And I doubt you really do."

"No, I'm serious," Klaus told her, bringing her chin up so they were eye to eye. "I'd really like to know. Please tell me."

"All right, but there's not much to tell, really," she sighed. "The colors are brighter here. It's more peaceful. But that's about it."

"And what about you?" Klaus continued.

"What do you mean, 'What about me'?" AnnaLynne questioned.

"I mean who are you?" Klaus elaborated. "If you want us to be a couple, then we have to know things about each other, right?"

"There's nothing interesting to say about me," AnnaLynne shook her head. "You wouldn't be interested."

"Tell me about your family," Klaus suggested, trying a different tack. "I know all about your father, but what about your mother?"

"She…she died giving birth to me," AnnaLynne got out, trying not to cry. "She was human and while humans can carry demon pregnancies with difficulties, the birth always ends up in death for them."

"Was your father broken up about it?" Klaus continued. "Did she mean a lot to him?"

"No, it was a one-night stand," AnnaLynne sighed. "Is that what they call it here when people meet and have sex and then hardly ever see one another again? One of Daddy's rare on-night stands. He took me in because he felt it would be a bad idea to have a demon-child in a human orphanage. And while he's kept me well-cared for, I've never felt as accepted as all his other kids, who were product of marriages he made. I'm basically the family reject, no matter how much he tries to tell me otherwise."

"So it's been hard for you?" Klaus asked in surprise. "You've spent a lot of your life trying to figure out where you belong?"

"I guess you could say that," AnnaLynne nodded. "You probably think it's really stupid, huh?"

"No, not really," Klaus shook his head. "Cause things have been pretty much the same way for me."

AnnaLynne looked up at him now, her eyes wide with shock. "Are you serious? You better not be making fun of me!"

"I'm not, I _swear_ ," Klaus insisted.

"Fine," AnnaLynne remarked. "It's your turn to share now. "What's _your_ life story?"

"Like I told you," Klaus grinned, "I was a reject too! It's something we have in common. Actually, I'm _still_ sort of the family reject, depending on who you ask."

"Who thinks you're the family reject?" AnnaLynne wanted to know. "Can I punch them in the face for you?"

"No, you can't punch my adoptive father in the face," Klaus shook his head, biting his lip on a smile. "It's sweet, but…I've gotten to the point where the pain of hearing it is dulled."

"Your adoptive father?" AnnaLynne questioned.

"I was the product of an affair my mother had because she and Mikael's marriage was rocky. She was able to pass me off as Mikael's until we became vampires and I made my first kill. The werewolf gene kicked in that's when Mikael, who is _not_ a werewolf, realized that Mother had had an affair with one of our werewolf neighbors and I was the result. He hated me after that."

"Well, _I_ don't hate you," AnnaLynne remarked as she tried to cheer up the distraught man. She was even moved to reach out and hug him briefly. Then the hug lasted a little longer, and then turned into a kiss before they finally pulled apart and stared at one another before standing up.

"You know, I think we should go now, don't you?" Klaus asked. "This was fun, but…um, I have some cleaning to do back at home."

"Yeah, I'd believe that," AnnaLynne scoffed as they both got back on the motorcycle and headed home while trying to forget what had just happened between them.

* * *

Although Savannah and Jonathan were surprised to have more of a reprieve than they expected, they weren't foolish enough to think that just because Elijah didn't show up to deal with Amy immediately after he left meant that he didn't care and he wasn't gonna show up at all.

Show up he did, at night, while everyone was asleep. It was the sound of him and Amy arguing that brought the other two of her bedroom, where they found that Elijah had tied Amy's arms behind her back and was struggling to hoist her over his shoulder.

"Seriously, Uncle Elijah?" Savannah asked, hands on hips. "This is how you're gonna do this?"

"Go back to bed!" Elijah demanded. "This is none of your business!"

"I would say that you kidnapping my mother is my business for sure," Savannah told him. She then strode over and tried to engage him in the fight but he pushed her over and her head hit the floor with a crack.

"Would you like to have a turn too?" Elijah glared at Jonathan. "Or will you let me just get out of here?"

"That depends if you want to fight me now, or later," Jonathan replied.

"I can wait," Elijah picked Amy up and pushed Jonathan aside with his shoulder as Amy pounded on his back and Jonathan, after he got his bearings, followed them and tried to pull her out of his grip. "I'm not particularly eager to fight you." He then carried Amy off while Jonathan called assurances after her that she would be saved.

"If you're going to kidnap me and make me stay with you for days, can I at least grab some toiletries to take with me?" Amy asked. "Please?"

"Fine," Elijah huffed and carried her to the bathroom. She went in while he stood outside the door, and she emerged with a pale face and an overnight bag.

"I heard you were ill in there," he remarked. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Amy shook her head. "It's probably just a flu bug. But if you don't want puke all over your clothes, I suggest you let me walk out to the car on my own instead of throwing me over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes."

Elijah sighed and let her go out to the car ahead of him and when they arrived at his house, he brought her back into the master bedroom, shutting the door behind both of them. "Why did you leave me?" He demanded. "I think I deserve to know the truth. Things were going so well between us. Why did you have to ruin it?" His dark eyes bore into Amy's own and she swallowed before giving him an answer.

"It wouldn't surprise me that you would think what we had was good," she told him. "You wouldn't say anything else, would you?"

"Well, what would you expect me to say?" Elijah cried. "What do you want from me, Amy?"

"I don't want _anything_ from you! Nothing!" Amy cried and blushed furiously. "I just want _out_ which is why I left in the first place!"

Elijah groaned and pushed back his hair. "You really want to be free of me?" He asked. "To end our relationship? And there's nothing I can say or do to change your mind?"

"That's true," Amy nodded. "I'm sorry."

But Elijah didn't accept this gracefully. He growled and his hands became fists. When he spoke, his voice was soft and tightly controlled. "Fine," he got out. "If you want to end things, I'll give you your wish. But I want one last thing before you go."

"Oh?" Amy backed away as he advanced on her. "And just what's that?"

"You should know," Elijah told her. "I shouldn't have to tell you."

She knew, but looked at him with big, stunned eyes, not thinking he would actually be stupid enough to act on what he wanted.

"Since you had fun with me last night before running off like a coward," he told her, "I think it's only right that I get the same goodbye before we end things for good. Don't you think? That's fair, right?" He kept advancing on her until she backed into one of the bedroom walls. Then he grabbed her, pulling her to him and kissing her roughly before pulling up her skirt and giving her a good rub under her panties. She moaned and waited for him to do more, but he didn't. Instead, he whispered against her ear, "Don't leave me, please. I know I made a mistake. I know I've done wrong. But _I need_ you. I've never felt the same with any other woman. You make me feel free, good, like life is more than just fixing one problem after another. You're a good woman, Amy. Let me be a good man for you." He'd paused rubbing her while making this speech, but then he started again. She tried to resist him, but it felt too good when he touched her. She moaned with pleasure and shut her eyes, only opening them again when she felt him slide her panties down to her ankles and unzip his trousers.

She opened her mouth to protest, and as he leaned in to kiss her, she did the only thing she could do: she kicked him hard in the crotch.

As he groaned and fell to his knees, she pulled up her panties as he cried out, "What the hell did you do that for? I thought we were getting along so well!"

"Are you serious? You kidnapped me, you idiot!" Amy remonstrated. "I admit you almost had me. If you just hadn't pressed your luck and unzipped your pants, maybe you wouldn't be in such horrible pain now. I know you hurt, I know you need me, but I just…I can't do this anymore. I can't have relationships where the men I'm with expect me to be a babysitter or a mother as well as a lover. It's not fair to me. I've had enough. And if you don't understand that, you're a bigger fool than I thought!"

Elijah opened his mouth but realized that he didn't know how to respond to that in a way that wouldn't make the situation a million times worse than it already was. So he just muttered something under his breath that could have been an apology, although she doubted it was, and left the room, allowing Amy to pull up her panties and shut the door before falling to her knees on the floor and sobbing. She hated to do this to him. She did. But she had to if she was ever gonna be in a healthy relationship that actually benefited her.

When she got her breath, she called Savannah, who zapped herself to Elijah's immediately and comforted her mother after seeing Amy's tear-stained face. "If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to," she told her. "But if you do, I'm here to listen."

"Thank you," Amy remarked as she gave Savannah a hug and then excused herself, taking her overnight bag to a nearby bathroom and pulling out a pregnancy test, staring at it in disbelief, wondering if she was crazy, but at the same time, wanting to know just the same if, even after just a few trysts, she was already carrying Elijah's baby.

* * *

"It was…it was really nice of you to bring me lunch," Patrick told Addie as they sat in his office eating burgers and drinking sodas.

"It's no problem," Addie shrugged. "I know it's not the healthiest for a person who works at a gym, but…"

"It's a free meal," Patrick told her. "I'm not complaining."

Addie smiled. "So…anything interesting happen lately?"

"You won't believe this," Patrick told her. "But my boss, Eric the demon, asked me for advice. He and Sophia are having issues and he wanted to know how to get on her good side. I wouldn't have told him anything, but he got this sad look on his face and said he didn't know how to love very well. That he didn't understand it. And that was something that I could relate to cause when we met, I was the same way. So I'm gonna help him. Hopefully, sometime he can love Sophia like I love you."

Addie heard this and choked on her soda. "Hold on," she said between coughs. "Before I respond, did you just say that you… _love_ me?"

"Well, that depends," he quickly backtracked, taking Addie's shock for something bad. "If I did, how would you feel about it?"

"I think it would be nice," Addie smiled. "So I hope you _did_ say you love me. Then I can tell you that I love you too without terrifying you and making you run like a scared bunny."

"I _did_ say I love you," Patrick told her. "And I'm glad you love me too. That really makes me feel good. But I wouldn't run like a scared bunny."

"Are you sure?" Addie questioned.

"Yes," Patrick nodded. "If I know my feelings are returned, there's no reason for me to be frightened, is there?"

"No, there shouldn't be," Addie shook her head and held out the red container that had been resting beside her. "Would you like the last handful of fries?"

"Sure," Patrick nodded and kissed her. "You must really love me if you're letting me have the last handful of fries."

"Yes, that _is_ an ultimate expression of love, isn't it?" Addie grinned. "But I don't mind. As long as it makes you happy."

"Did you know that I loved you before now?" Patrick asked.

"Well, there were times I had an inkling of your feelings but I was never quite sure," Addie confessed. "You're very good at hiding your feelings until the exact time you want people to know them. Not that that's a criticism," she told him quickly. "Just an observation." She took his hand, her green eyes peering into his as she waited for him to speak.

"I'm glad you were able to read between the lines," he said at last. "Thank you for not getting annoyed and giving up on me."

"Oh, of course not!" Addie cried and, thinking he needed more positive reinforcement, threw herself into his arms, kissing his face and neck and telling him how great he was.

"You don't have to do this," he told her, flushing a bright red that contrasted magnificently with his dark hair. "I'm not so great. I'm a work in progress!"

"I don't care," Addie hugged him harder. "I love you so much. _So much!"_


	52. Some Steps Forward

The knowledge of Elijah and Selina's divorce was common around Roxie's, as was the break-up of Klaus and Amy.

"What the fuck is happening?" Adrian questioned Roxie. "Dad and Amy split up, Mom and Elijah split up…it's nuts!"

"You know, if I were you, I would go and have a look at the guy your mom is shacked up with," Kai suggested to Adrian. "He could be shifty and evil."

"But he's not!" Roxie told him. "I mean, sure he's dangerous to other people cause he's a demon, but he's not dangerous to Mom. I have no doubt he really loves her."

"I think I'll go and see for myself, just for my own peace of mind," Adrian told her. "I haven't seen her in a long time anyway. It's about time I visited."

"Oh, all right," Roxie agreed as Kai continued to goad her brother. "Just don't go in there planning to kill him. Laura tried that and it didn't end well."

"Wait, what?" Adrian's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "You mean sweet, wonderful Laura who would never hurt a fly tried to kill the new guy with scissors? Why the hell would she do that?"

Roxie smiled at her older brother and leaned close to him, a grin on her lips. "Remember when Mom got with Uncle Elijah and we both hated it?"

"Yeah," Adrian nodded. "Do I ever."

"Well, it seems that Laura feels the same way about Mom being with Dorian and not _her_ father," Roxie said. "Although, considering how horribly Uncle Elijah is taking the divorce and how pissed he seems to be that Mom's moved on already, I wouldn't be surprised if, somehow, he goaded Laura into the whole thing."

Adrian chuckled, his drink spraying out of his mouth. "You really think Laura's capable of being so mean?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah," Roxie nodded, frowning at her brother as she wiped up his mess. "I mean, look what Mom did when she was ticked off. Laura comes from the same gene pool. Plus, I think we're idiots if we don't acknowledge Uncle Elijah's got some crazy in him that he's repressing. It's gotta be in there somewhere."

"Yeah," Adrian nodded. "I guess you're right."

"You still going to see Mom?" Roxie asked.

"Yeah," Adrian nodded. "I believe I am. But I'll call first so she knows that I mean no harm."

"Good idea," Roxie smiled. "You need a phone?"

"No," Adrian held up his phone and started to punch in Selina's number. "I got mine."

* * *

"So your son is coming?" Dorian asked. "What's he like?"

"He's not one of Elijah's," Selina assured him. "He's Roxie's brother. One of my kids with Klaus."

"That fills me full of relief," Dorian let out a breath. "But I'm going to watch my back just in case."

"Oh, you don't need to," Selina told him. "Adrian's not like that. He's kind of got the same stance about things that you do. If you leave him alone, he'll leave you alone, or even try and get to be your friend. He only gets problematic if you piss him off or hurt him, and I know you wouldn't do that. At least not before you've even met him."

"No," Dorian agreed. "I wouldn't. Does he drink?"

"Yes, but he's more of a beer person than a wine person," Selina explained. "I know what kind he likes. I'll run out and get it for him. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks," Dorian nodded. He sat down and said, "So you truly think he won't cause us any trouble?"

"No, I really don't," Selina shook her head. "He may not be as enthusiastic as his sister, but he won't be antagonistic like Laura. He'll be polite." She went and got his beer, came back, put it in the fridge, and then they waited for Adrian.

When he showed up, the first thing he did was give Selina a hug when she opened the door for him. Then, he came inside, looked Dorian over for a few seconds, then smiled and stuck out his hand. "Hi, I'm Adrian," he said. "Are you Dorian?"

"Yes," Dorian replied. "As a matter of fact, I am."

"It's good to meet you," Adrian remarked and took a seat in Selina's chair. "Since you let her keep this, you don't have to worry about me treating you harshly. You must really care about her."

"Oh, I do," Dorian nodded. "You seriously don't have any worries about your mother being in love with a demon?"

Adrian shook his head. "You're a demon, she's a vampire-werewolf hybrid. I bet you're probably somewhat more powerful, but she's not completely at your mercy, is she? Besides, if you look at my own romantic history, it's not really my place to judge. Would you believe that I first grew attached to the woman I'm with now when she was a baby?"

"Oh?" Dorian raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, then she aged a bunch out of nowhere, and here we are," Adrian sighed. "Don't ask me to explain why. It still makes no sense to me."

"I got you that beer you like," Selina told Adrian after a few minutes of silence. "It's in the refrigerator if you want it."

"Can I talk to you in the kitchen?" Adrian questioned.

Selina nodded and they went to the kitchen, which was a short distance away from the living room. "So?" She got out. "What do you think?"

"Well, I don't hate him, since he obviously cares for you," Adrian replied. "I want you to be happy. I'm not gonna call him 'Dad' or anything, but I see no harm in being nice to him so that when he takes over the world, I get some cushy place in it all and not killed like everyone else."

"That's a logical way to look at things," Selina nodded. "Very practical. Thank you for making this easy for me. It's gonna be hard enough explaining what I did when Elijah sics the whole brood on me. Having you and your sister be okay with this lightens the burden a bit."

"Good," Adrian nodded and hugged her again before grabbing his beer and going to continue his chat with Dorian. "That's what I was going for."

* * *

The pregnancy test had confirmed what Amy already knew but she thought it would be best to go to the doctor and have herself looked over. She had no intention of telling Elijah or letting him come to the hospital with her, even though that would have been the nice thing to do. She went with Savannah instead and was told about the reality of her condition once more, and given prenatal vitamins and other things.

"I can't believe you're pregnant with Uncle Elijah's kid!" Savannah got out, her eyes wide with shock as she led her mother out of the hospital. "Maybe you and Selina should start some sort of club."

"Perhaps," Amy nodded.

They got in the car, but before Savannah began driving, she asked, "Do you know what you're going to do with it? Are you going to keep it?"

"I think I will," Amy nodded. "It's not like I'm a stranger to raising a child alone." She put a hand on her belly. "I mean, look how Vivi turned out."

"That's true," Savannah nodded and started the car. "You make a very good point. Or, if, after everything, you find out that it's a bit overwhelming, Jonathan and I could always take care of the kid for you. That's a possibility."

"I couldn't ask you to do that," Amy shook her head. "Not when this is my issue."

"Can I ask why you look at everything in your life as something to be conquered?" Savannah questioned. "Having kids, relationships, stuff like that? It's kind of a habit with you. It's like you don't know how to just enjoy things. Now, if I'm overstepping here, I'm sorry. But I just thought that it needed to be said."

"Oh, my god," Amy said. "I never thought of it that way, but I think you're right. Everything in my life has to be some sort of project. I have to control it. I can't just let it go." She turned to face her daughter. "That's why I broke off the engagement with Jonathan: he was too perfect. He was too good. He would take care of me. And it just…the thought freaked me out so much that I told him I wasn't ready and I ran for the hills!" She began biting her nails. "How the hell do I work my way through this? Cause I don't want to spend the rest of my life alone, or making one stupid mistake after another by just trying to mold guys and then having to run for my life when it doesn't work out. There _has_ to be some sort of solution."

"Yeah, I bet there is," Savannah nodded. "Like, for example, it could be that sometime down the road, Uncle Elijah won't be a jerk and the two of you can actually have a good relationship."

"Oh, if that happened, you would hate it," Amy told her. "I know you. I know that's true."

"It is," Savannah confessed. "But if it made you happy, I would learn how to deal with it. I promise."

"You would?" Amy asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Savannah nodded. "I would."

* * *

After his very nice conversation and motorcycle ride with AnnaLynne, Klaus' opinion of her began to change. While he was still in no mood to move on to another relationship just yet, he felt all right with offering her a few crumbs.

Not long after their ride, he gave her a call. "Hello, AnnaLynne!"

"Klaus?" AnnaLynne asked in genuine shock. "Why are you calling? I haven't sent you any naked pictures lately. Do you want another one?"

He chuckled. "Well, of course I wouldn't mind it because you're a beautiful woman, but actually, I just called to see how you were since I last saw you."

"Well, that's nice," AnnaLynne remarked. "I'm well. How are you?"

"I've been better, I've been worse," Klaus replied.

They then lapsed into a long silence because neither of them knew what to say beyond 'Hello'. Then, AnnaLynne got out, "What are you wearing?"

"Oh, no, AnnaLynne," Klaus groaned. "Do you really think this is the time for that?"

"Why is it the wrong time?" AnnaLynne asked. "Cause apparently we don't have anything else to talk about. What are you wearing? Nothing? From the way things sounded when you talked before, you don't really take the time to actually dress anymore, do you?"

"Well, today, I happened to," Klaus told her. "Red shirt, denim shorts."

"Well isn't that nice," AnnaLynne replied. "I'm in my locked room wearing a t-shirt and just my underwear. Little white laces ones." She paused. "But I was thinking of taking them off. Why don't I do that?"

"So you're gonna sit around your room with no pants on?" Klaus asked. "What good does that do if you're alone?"

"I don't have to be alone," AnnaLynne replied. "You could invite me over and we could be at your house with no underwear on together. You could even take it off of me if you wanted."

A growl escaped Klaus' throat. "You have no shame, do you?" He whispered. "None."

"Nope," AnnaLynne giggled. "Not a single little bit. Now, don't make me do all the work. Give me something to think about, would you? Even if it's not real, make something up. Like, for example: when you get out of the shower, do you immediately go for a towel to put around your waist, or do you just walk around naked for a while and _then_ get a towel?"

"That depends," Klaus remarked, flushing a little as he realized he was having to get a tutorial about how to do sexy talk with a woman. "Sometimes I just walk around without a towel, especially if there's someone else around that I want to impress."

"So if I came to your house and rang the doorbell and you just got out of the shower…you'd answer the door dripping wet and naked?" AnnaLynne asked, a shiver going through her body as she shut her eyes and tried to picture that. It was a good picture.

"Well of course I would, if I knew it was you on the other side of the door," Klaus replied. "The look on your face would be really interesting, wouldn't it?"

AnnaLynne swallowed. "You think I would have an interesting look on my face?"

"Yes." Klaus grinned. "You'd be overwhelmed and faint on my doorstep."

"I would not!" AnnaLynne cried. "And I will show you! Next time before your shower, you give me a call and tell me when you plan to get out so I can come to your house, knock on the door, and show you just how wrong you are."

"All right," Klaus nodded. "I'll think about it. And I'll make sure there are pillows in the doorway."

"I won't need them," AnnaLynne insisted.

"Yes, you will," Klaus told her. "Don't try and deny it."

"You know, I don't want to talk to you anymore," AnnaLynne spat. "I'm ending this call!"

"Fine, I don't care!" Klaus yelled. "Goodbye!" He grinned with satisfaction as he heard the click on her end of the line and put his phone back on his bedside table.

* * *

Over the next month, Selina threw herself into drawing up decorating schemes for the night club with enthusiasm because it was _much_ more enjoyable than teaching at school. Although Dorian had given her free rein, since their styles were so different, she felt it would be wrong to take complete advantage and made sure it was something he was truly okay with before she went out and bought anything.

Finally, the club was nearly ready for its opening. It had everything in it but guests and paint on the walls, which would be different neon colors. As Selina sat at the bar with a rum and Coke in hand prepared by Dorian himself, who'd gone out to buy paint, she shut her eyes and envisioned opening night: _She and Jeannette would go shopping for new dresses (cause of course everyone from the office would be invited), and Dorian would order a limo._

 _They would go to the club and as he helped her out of the limo, scores of fascinated demons would have cameras and want to take pictures of her. Dorian would be worried at first, but she wouldn't be scared at all. She would be charming and delightful for her first big foray into the demon world and everyone would love her._

"Darling?" She was startled from her dream at the sound of Dorian's voice. "What are you thinking of?"

"Just opening night," she smiled. "I think it'll be fun, don't you?"

"Yes," Dorian grabbed her free hand and squeezed it as he gave her a wide smile. "I really do." He paused. "Are you nervous? Cause it will be your big introduction to the demon world."

"I know," Selina nodded. "And I would be lying if I said that it wasn't a little intimidating. I mean, it'd be bad to have a whole bunch of demons hating me."

"And that's why I'm going to have everyone get to know you before we're married," Dorian told her. "Not that I think they'll hate you. I mean, has any demon that you've been around for an extended period of time since you knew about them hated you?"

"No, not really," Selina shook her head, crossing one leg over the other and adjusting her hot pink and black striped skirt.

"See?" Dorian shrugged. "You have nothing to worry about. You'll do fine." He paused. "And if you decided you wanted to come and work with me, would you like to have Jeannette as an assistant?"

"Oh, I don't know if that's a good idea," Selina told him. "I wouldn't want to make her work for me like that."

"She wants to," Dorian told her. "She begged me to ask you the other day. You'd be doing her a favor."

"Well, all right," Selina nodded. "If she wants to, and I like having her around, then who am I to let her down?"

"Good," Dorian nodded and pulled out his phone, handing it to her with a smile. "You can tell her. It'll make her day."


	53. You're Invited

Even though there was still several days until the club opened, since Dorian had told Selina that she could invite whomever she wanted, she knew that with her large crowd, if she didn't start now, she wouldn't be able to send out the invitations in time.

She began feverishly scribbling one invitation after another and putting them in a pile beside the desk. When a good bunch were settled on the floor, Selina paused when she heard a voice. "You want a break, Miss Executive?" She grinned as she looked up and saw Dorian standing across from her with a tray that had two glasses on it, along with a bottle of white wine. "You should talk to Jeannette about helping you sort and stamp those before you send them off."

"Yes, that would be a wonderful idea," Selina remarked and wiped her brow. "And I'm not done yet."

"Can you take a break to have some wine?" Dorian put the tray on the desk and opened it. "Please?"

"Sure," Selina nodded as she picked a glass and held it out. "I would love some. Thanks." She gave him a smile and took a sip. "This is perfect."

She took a few sips and then got up to pace around the office as Dorian took her chair and watched her. After a few minutes, she came back and he let her have the chair again, making his way toward the door. "Just a minute," she said, giving him pause. "Don't go now."

He turned, a grin on his lips. "Why not?"

"Because I have a question for you," she said, coming to put her arms around him. "You…you don't mind that I'm working at your desk, do you?"

"Not at all," Dorian replied as he looked over her low-cut black silk blouse and gray pencil skirt and she crossed one leg over the other. "But, if I'm going to be totally honest, that outfit you're wearing is giving me ideas. Ideas that would require you to take a break from all this work." He grinned. "Are you ready to do that?"

"I don't know," Selina grinned. "I have an _awful_ lot of work to do. It could take me _hours_ and _hours!"_

Dorian pulled her to him and whispered in her ear. "Oh, I think you're having too much fun with all this. Is that why you're making me wait?"

She licked her bottom lip and smiled. "You know, maybe you're right." Then she stuck out her tongue and pulled out of his grip. "But it really _is_ just fun," she assured him as he followed her, grabbed her around the waist, and pulled her to him backward. "I wouldn't tease you like that forever and then not see it through."

"Oh, I know," Dorian assured her and nibbled on her earlobe. "You wouldn't want both of us to suffer."

Then she paused. "Now, the question I'm about to ask might sound like it comes from a jealous or insecure place, but I really just want information, okay? I want to make that clear. Between the three marriages I've had that have produced children, fifteen kids have been born. How many kids do you have? Too many to keep track of? Cause I know that after all the time you've been alive, it can't just be Eric and AnnaLynne."

Dorian smiled and kissed her. "I have more than you do, but it's nothing that should worry you. Does the precise number matter?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "Not really."

Dorian nodded and went to look out the office window as Selina continued to make invitations and throw them into the pile, only pausing when Dorian spoke again.

"So…with all the children you've had, I guess you're done then, aren't you?"

"Done with what?" Selina asked. "Having kids?"

"Yes," Dorian nodded. "After all those pregnancies, you probably don't want to go through that again, especially with a demon child and you know what…never mind." He turned back to the window. "I shouldn't have asked. The thought of having a demon baby probably terrifies you."

"Actually, it doesn't," Selina replied. "What has terrified me about childbirth in my life is being a human in the nineteenth century and giving birth in the middle of a war, knowing there was a high chance that me, my baby, or both of us wouldn't make it through the delivery. Being a vampire and figuring that because I died, I wouldn't be able to give birth again, and then suddenly finding myself expecting a vampire-werewolf hybrid when a child like that had never been born before. Those things were terrifying. But I've had too much experience now to be truly frightened of anything anymore. So if you're asking me if I'd be willing to bear your children…of course I will." She grinned and ran over to hug him. "But if anything shocking or super painful happens during a demon pregnancy, I would like to know ahead of time so I can mentally prepare. That's all I ask, really." She got up from her chair and joined him, grabbed his hand, squeezed it, and then he grinned as he finally turned away from the window.

"Do you mean it?" He asked. "I don't want you to say it just for my benefit."

"Oh, believe me, I'm not that sort of person," Selina assured him. "Not anymore. If I didn't want to have your children, I would tell you that I didn't feel up to having your children. But I really _do_ want to. Maybe not as many as I had with Elijah but…two to four, maybe? Is that a good number?"

Dorian hugged and kissed her as she cupped his face with her hands. "If that's how many you feel up to giving birth to, that's how many we'll have. Sounds good to me." Then his hands slid down her back and over her bottom. "Do you still have invitations to write?" He asked. "Or could we get started on that now?"

"Well, there's still some time before the opening," Selina grinned, unbuttoning a few of the buttons on his dress shirt and sliding her hand in the hole. "I don't see why I can't take a break."

He smiled and said, "Would this be one of those situations where it's okay for me to throw you over my shoulder and take you to bed?"

"Oh, yes," Selina nodded and let him pick her up as she gave him a spank on the bottom. "It sure is!"

* * *

When Mikael received his invitation to the club opening, he showed it to Gwen. "What do you make of this? Shall we go?"

"Sure, if you want to," Gwen nodded. "It might be fun. I'm surprised you want to, though. Since the invitation came from Selina and you hate her and she's siding with demons now. I thought the last thing you'd want to do is be near her."

"Oh, but that's the point, Gwendolyn!" Mikael told her. "I _need_ to be close to the enemy now! I _need_ to figure out what those wicked demons are up to and this is demon central! The foolish girl is giving us the key to going behind enemy lines!" He grinned widely. "We'll win this, Gwendolyn!" He kissed her and then ran off to see John to tell him about the party and how they both could use it to take down the demons who dogged them so badly.

When he arrived at John's house, John was more than pleased to see him. "I can't believe that they're just giving you an invitation to this demon hideout," he remarked as they sat in his office and looked the invitation over. "They must be slipping, don't you think?"

"Oh, definitely," Mikael nodded. "It's like they want us to just come in there and pick them off one by one. And did you notice the date of the opening? Look at how much time we have to prepare!"

"Do you really think we _need_ much time to prepare?" John questioned. "Presumably the building stands empty now. Want to destroy it? Immediately? Or no, maybe we should wait. We'll do more damage that way."

"Sounds good to me," Mikael agreed and held out his hand. "You get men, I'll get men, they'll get bombs, and the demon club's opening night will go off with a bang!"

"Exactly, my friend," John grinned as they shook hands, then shared a drink as they imagined the look on Dorian's face when he realized that the club had been blown to pieces.

* * *

"I really hope you've got nothing else to do for the next several days," Klaus said when he called AnnaLynne soon after receiving his invitation. "Because I have a proposal for you."

"A proposal?" AnnaLynne asked in amazement. "Are you serious? You don't think it's too soon? What's the ring look like?"

Klaus chuckled. "No, sorry. Poor choice of words. I received an invitation to the opening of a new night club that your father appears to own along with my ex-wife. Did you get an invitation as well?"

"I did," AnnaLynne nodded. "I was thinking of not going cause I didn't want to be alone and look like a loser but if you're offering to come with me, I _might_ be motivated to go. Is that what you're asking?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "Will you come with me to the club opening?"

"That depends," AnnaLynne told him. "Is this a date?"

"What does it matter?" Klaus snapped.

"If it's not a date, I'm not going," AnnaLynne told him.

"Fine," Klaus sighed. What was so bad about going as friends? "I suppose it can be a date."

"All right, good," AnnaLynne nodded. "We'll have dinner, go for a walk, you can lead me back to my door afterward, maybe come in for a drink…and if you do that thing you said where you answer the door naked beforehand, that would just make my day. Or night, or whatever."

Klaus chuckled. "So nice to hear you're looking forward to that."

"Well, only because that's fair," AnnaLynne told him, her tone more matter-of-fact now. "I've sent you some naked pictures of myself. It's about time you do something to return the favor."

"Oh, it's not like I've left you completely clueless!" Klaus protested. "I've let you put your hands in places that would give you a basic idea of what I've got, even if you haven't actually seen it."

"That's the thing, though," AnnaLynne told him. "I want to."

"Why are you so eager?" Klaus asked. "Have you never seen one before?"

"Oh, no, I have," AnnaLynne assured him. "Lots and _lots_ of them. But I've never seen yours."

The idea of him being just another notch on her bedpost was irritating, but Klaus decided to push onward anyway. "Fine," he told her. "I'll take you home and then we'll have a drink and see what happens."

"Good!" AnnaLynne smiled. "Can't wait!"

* * *

Just like his brother, Elijah didn't want to go to the opening of the club alone. He knew he should ask Amy as an apology for how he'd behaved before, but he knew she'd most likely refuse him, so he called his favorite niece first. "Lucy, dear, would you come with me to the opening of a night club?"

"That's an unexpected question coming from you," Lucy remarked. "Is this a joke, or are you serious?"

"Oh, I'm serious," Elijah told her. "It would give you a chance to meet your mother's new boyfriend."

"I heard about what happened between you and Amy," Lucy told him. "I think asking me is just a way to avoid dealing with it. Call Amy first and ask her and if she refuses, then I'll go with you."

"Oh, all right," Elijah sighed. "Keep the phone nearby. You'll be getting another call soon."

Then he called Amy, and to his surprise, she answered, although she understandably wasn't as enthusiastic to hear from him as she normally was. "What is it that I can do for you? Thank you for calling this time instead of just storming my house when you want something."

"You're welcome," Elijah replied as he gave a nervous chuckle. "I just…I just wanted to know how you've been since we've not spoken in a while. Are you feeling well?"

"Well enough, all things considering," Amy replied. "Thank you for asking. Anything else?"

"I thought I had something to ask you, but now I'm not so sure," Elijah replied. "I have an invitation to a night club opening and I thought I would ask you if you wanted to come with me. Or at least if you would be okay with us being in the same space if you've also been invited."

"Of course I have," Amy replied. "And if you want to go, I think we can handle it, right? We are two mature adults who can face each other when problems arise instead of avoiding one another. Don't you think?"

"Yes, I…I suppose so," he sighed. "I really _am_ sorry about what happened between us before, Amy. I want you to know that."

"What in the hell was going through your head, Elijah?" Amy asked. "What would make you act like that toward me? I'd expect that sort of behavior from your brother, but…not from you."

"I'm not going to say that what I did was right," Elijah replied. "But I would think you of all people would understand the stress and strain of being held to a high standard at all times and the frustration of not being allowed to have an off-day."

"An off day for you would be drinking blood from a living, breathing body," Amy pointed out. "You kidnapped me! You made me feel unsafe! And now you're trying to make me feel guilty for making efforts to get away from it? No. Just don't. Don't talk to me about it again until you can start taking responsibility for what you did instead of excusing it. Hopefully you'll get there by the night of the opening, because I really don't want to spend the whole time avoiding you."

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "I don't want that either."

Amy waited for him to do what she'd suggested, but he didn't. He didn't seem to have a clue. So finally she got out, "I'll give you more time to get your thoughts together. I need to do the same with mine. Goodbye, Elijah."

"Goodbye, Amy," Elijah responded. "See you at the opening. I'm glad you're well after all that's happened."

"Thank you. See you then," Amy told him, her voice tired as she ended the call. She didn't know if it was talking to him or because of the baby, but she felt incredibly drained and all she wanted to do was go to bed for hours and not come out until dinner.


	54. Going Underground

"I wonder if everyone is going to show up for the club opening?" Selina said as she and Dorian got ready for it, putting on their funkiest clothes. "I mean, when I think of all the people I invited…Malachai's coven children and the people they're with, him and Helene, Kai and Victoria, Elijah and Amy…there are just so many I can't even keep track of them all."

"They should all be there," Dorian told her as he put on his pants. He still had to put on a shirt. "If they don't come, they're going to miss out on a very good time."

Selina grinned and grabbed him by the waistband of his pants, even though she knew that giving in to her urges would probably make them late. "Better than the time we're about to have now?" She chuckled. "Then she whispered in his ear before giving it a nibble, "I just need fifteen minutes, please? We can do that, right?"

"No, they won't have as much fun as we're about to have now," Dorian smiled and kissed her. "Fifteen minutes is doable. We're still on the same page about wanting to have kids, right?"

"Of course," Selina nodded. "But I have to warn you that I've been on pills to stop me from being pregnant for a while now so it might take some time for it to actually happen."

"That's all right," he grinned, kissing her stomach as he slipped off her panties. "Practice makes perfect, doesn't it?"

"I think that's a thing," Selina nodded. "Plus, it's fun!"

"Oh, it sure is," Dorian grinned, peeling off her snug black leather dress that was covered with little white lights to give her some illumination in the mostly dark club, and sliding off her black pantyhose before unzipping his pants, helping her onto the bed and parting her legs, then gently and slowly pleasuring her with his tongue.

Selina shut her eyes, moaning with pleasure, soon feeling weight beside her as he paused and got in bed with her and felt his finger sliding in and out of her. Her breath began to pick up and she felt her whole body become warm. Then, his lips were on her stomach and she finally opened her eyes and saw him pause kissing her to grin at her wickedly, his dark eyes twinkling.

"You're trying to kill me, aren't you?" She asked. "Just teasing me like this for so long."

"Oh, well, I don't mean to," he informed her as he moved his finger and captured her lips with his as she threw her arms around his neck and he buried himself inside her, pushing into her over and over again as he played with her dark hair.

After they climaxed, they collapsed together in heap on the bed and dozed off, and when they woke again, Dorian got a good look at the clock and hopped off the bed, shaking Selina awake and throwing her clothes at her. "Looks like we had a little too much fun," he said with a grin. "We're late for the opening."

"You don't seem too distressed about that," Selina observed as she looked around for her underwear, dress, hose, and shoes. When she couldn't find her underwear, she just shrugged it off and decided to go without them. It's not like she would be the only one who made that decision.

"Why should I be distressed?" Dorian asked. "It's not like they'll start things without us if we're late."

"That's a good point," Selina grinned and took his hand after shaking out her hair. "I never thought about it that way.

They raced each other to the limo, laughing all the way and, when they were seated, Dorian pulled out a bottle of champagne and two glasses to toast the success of the new night club. Not that they thought it would be a problem, but a little champagne never hurt anyone.

* * *

As the rest of his siblings and their significant others had their silly evening at the stupid night club, two of the single coven siblings, Sarah and Todd, stayed at Kai and Victoria's to watch Lydia because neither of them were in the mood to be around all those people, even though an unpredictable baby wasn't much better company.

"It's not working trying to get her to eat," Sarah told Todd as he found her clutching a very messy baby. "I might as well go give her a bath. Would you watch my phone and if anyone calls, just answer and tell them that I'll call them back soon, please."

"Isn't that what voicemail is for?" Todd sighed. But he did what she asked, thinking that no one would call. Until someone did.

"Hello? He answered gruffly. "Sarah can't talk to you right now and I don't really want to either, so call back later."

"Oh, just a minute," came Faye's voice. "When will she be available? Can you tell me that at least? My name's Faye."

"I know that name," Todd told her. "She's complained about you before."

"I understand why, but it really was unintentional," Faye insisted. What's your name? Are you her boyfriend?"

Todd heard this and nearly choked on his spit. "No, I'm her brother. Why would you think I'm her boyfriend?"

"I don't know. But it was a really bad guess, apparently," Faye replied. Then she asked, "Why are you home alone on a night like this? What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong with me!" Todd cried. "Maybe I like being by myself because the world is full of stupid people like you who think that everyone needs to be paired with someone and go out on the weekend. If that's so important to you, why aren't you out eating dinner with some poor sap instead of being alone in your house talking to me? I bet you couldn't get a date if you wanted to and all you have is your TV dinner and your romance novels."

"Shows what you know!" Faye told him. "I could have any guy I want. I bet I could even get you to like me if I tried."

"Not really," Todd told her. "Not with the first impression you're making. I wouldn't fall in love with you in a thousand years!"

"I never said you had to fall in love with me," Faye replied. "I just said I had to get you to find me attractive and I know from past experience that that's not a problem I have when it comes to men."

Todd's lip curled. "Why are you telling me this? Did you just call to brag or something?" He wished that Sarah would get her butt out here and talk to this person so he could finally be away from the sound of her saccharine voice. It was making him sick.

"I'm not bragging," Faye told him. "I'm just sharing a truth with you. Offering a challenge. Unless you're too scared to take me up on it."

"I am scared of nothing, especially not someone like you!" Todd replied. "I'll show you. You're the last person I could ever see myself being with."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Faye told him. "We'll see." She had no idea what Sarah's brother looked like, but she didn't really care. She wanted to meet him. To prove him wrong and see the look on his face. "Just so you know, I'm planning a trip to America soon. Maybe we'll see each other."

"I hope not," Todd remarked. "Luckily for me, America is a big country so the chance of you just finding me is a very slim once, which is something I'm very grateful for." It was then that Sarah came into the room with Lydia in her arms. "What's that Faye? You say you want to talk to Sarah? Well, she just came into the room now!"

Sarah heard the name and her eyes widened as she began wildly shaking her head and mouthing, "No! No!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Todd amended. "It looks like she doesn't want to talk to you either. Goodbye!" He pressed the button to end the call and put Sarah's phone down.

"Thank you," Sarah let out a breath as Todd reached out to take a much cleaner Lydia from her. "I really couldn't speak to that woman."

"You hate her too?" Todd asked. "Who the hell is she?"

"Junior's girlfriend," Sarah huffed. "I met her when I went down to surprise him for his birthday." She scoffed. "It turned out _I_ was the one who got the surprise. He says they aren't a couple, but he has to be lying to me. People don't live across the hall from each other and just have it end up being nothing."

"He might be telling you the truth," Todd replied. "Or whatever she and Junior had is coming to an end because I think she wants to put the moves on _me_ now!"

"Run!" Sarah urged. "Run as fast as you can!"

"You don't have to tell me," Todd assured her. "I've only heard her voice and I know just from that that I want to stay as far away from her as possible."

"You're a smart man, Todd," Sarah remarked.

"Yeah," Todd grinned. "I know."

* * *

"So what do you know about this club?" Ian asked Samantha as they sat across from each other in the limo with Ethan and Stefan at their sides.

"You know, I haven't heard much of anything," Annie put in. "Just that it's supposed to be very hip. I hope it's nothing like a disco. It would be horrible if it was a disco." She shuddered.

"What do you know about discos?" Patrick wanted to know since he bet she'd never actually been in one as Addie put a hand on his arm. "Don't bad mouth it before we even get there. Why did you even come if you're just gonna complain about it?"

This made Damon start to lunge at him in Annie's defense, but Stefan urged him back. "Let's not make a big deal about this, okay?"

"Yes, let's not," Clarissa begged. She and Drew had just begun to enjoy the fact that Elijah and Selina were no longer under the same roof and fighting and the thought of having to endure more bickering when they were stuck in a limo and couldn't get away was too much. "Please?"

"What does anyone know about this club?" Percy repeated Ian's question in an effort to change the subject. "Any more speculation at all?"

"I have to wonder why the invitation said 'Bring flashlights'," Leslie put forth. "I hope it's not because the place has no electricity. It won't get much business that way." Then she put her head on Sam's shoulder. "Maybe you could get a job here. Like, play a few gigs or something. Do you think Roxie would mind since she basically owns you?"

"She does not," Sam corrected. "I just play at her place most often cause it's a steady job. Do you suddenly have a problem with that?"

"No," Leslie shook her head. "I just thought I'd suggest it if you wanted a little variety, that's all." This was spoken through her teeth.

"I heard the place was entirely underground and you had to know a password, or be on a list and stuff to get in," Daisy offered. "That's kind of cool, don't you think?"

"Makes it seem _much_ more exclusive," Clarissa smiled at her sister.

"Does anyone know why Jill didn't come tonight?" Davina questioned. "Should we go to her house and ask again? I hope that demon boyfriend of hers hasn't decided to keep her from living her life."

"I asked, believe me," Percy assured her. "And she told me that Christian had told her that John told him that it wasn't a good idea for them to go. That it would probably be pretty boring and that they should find something better to do with their time."

"That just seems very suspicious to me," Percy continued. "So wrong."

"And you've worried about it ever since they got together," William reminded him. "What has it gotten you? Nothing. It's just made you more freaked out every day. Jill likes him. They aren't going to separate. Calm down."

Percy rolled his eyes and no one spoke again until they reached the night club, which was called The Underground. The limo drove them to the front door and let them out, and as they entered the club, they saw it was well lit and a sign pointed to a bunch of elevators. They got in them and obeyed a sign that told them to press the button labeled "Underground." When the doors opened, everything was pitch black. They formed a chain, grabbing each other's hands and pulling out their flashlights. They reached a door that was blocked by a man in a neon green suit who shone a flashlight on them. "Name?" He asked. "Are you on the list?"

"Well, we should be," Patrick replied and handed him his invitation. The man shone his flashlight on it and Addie added, "We all have them. Can we go in?" Behind her, she saw lots of darkness and neon-colored furniture under blacklighting in what seemed to be a very cavernous space, punctuated by many different colors of glowing neon light and heard pulsing music.

"Yes," The man gestured and stepped aside. "You're some of the guests of honor. Have a good time."


	55. Going Out With A Boom

"You know, I'm kind of glad it's so dark in here," Eric told Patrick after he managed to find him. "I'll feel less awkward getting Sophia's attention if I can't see that she's avoiding me on purpose. You've been here longer than I have. Is she here yet?"

"Not that I know of," Patrick replied and trained his light around the room until he incurred the wrath of a gray one who was in his demon form by shining it in his eyes. "I mean, she could be looking like her demon self, cause some people here are, but I don't think she's come."

"Well, that's a relief," Eric wiped his brow. "It gives me time to prepare."

"All right," Patrick put his hands on Eric's shoulders. "You remember what we talked about when it came to Sophia?"

Eric turned to face him. "No. I don't think you told me anything at all. Not yet, anyway."

"Ah," Patrick nodded. "So it was all just in my head. Well, for starters, don't start talking about your baby plans, okay? That doesn't seem to have worked out for you so far."

"Yeah, all right, I'll try not to do that," Eric nodded. "Is she here yet? I want to get this conversation over with."

"No, I don't think she is," Patrick replied. "If you don't think you can dance or anything, go get a drink, sit down, and watch for her."

"All right," Eric agreed. "I bet she's gonna be fashionably late just to annoy me, though."

"Maybe," Patrick shrugged. "Now, you need me for anything else? No? Good, cause I have someone to dance with. Excuse me."

Eric then watched as Patrick went to dance with Addie, then sighed and ordered a drink while watching the door, just as he had suggested.

* * *

Amy and Elijah arrived at the club, showed their invitations, and got inside with ease and, perhaps because he wanted to prove that he wasn't cowardly, when Amy suggested they try and find Selina to thank her for inviting them, he agreed immediately.

"And could you…could you be polite?" Amy asked. "I wouldn't appreciate being embarrassed in public."

"It's dark," Elijah replied irritably as they made their way toward a woman with a dress covered in lights who was perched on a neon pink sofa. "No one will see us." Then he sat down next to the woman. "Look at this, I'm sitting on pink furniture," he remarked. "Aren't you surprised? Nice place you have here."

"Hello, Elijah," Selina greeted him, her voice pleasant. "So glad you could come and I really hope you enjoy yourselves."

"We will," Amy smiled. "I don't see why we wouldn't."

"Good," Selina smiled. "Cause the whole point of this place is to just have fun. Lots of fun. There's a bar over there where you can get a drink if you want one."

"Oh, I don't think I should," Amy shook her head.

"Why?" Elijah wanted to know.

"Cause I've decided to lay off the alcohol for a little bit. It's bad for you, you know," Amy replied and then strode off. Elijah didn't know how to respond to that, so he gave Selina a nod and then strode off.

He followed Amy, and when they paused outside of the door to ladies' room, she finally turned to face him. "If you want to talk to me, go ahead and say what you need to say," she demanded. "Cause I have to go use the toilet and you're not allowed in here."

"Says what?" Elijah asked. "That little sign on the door?"

"Yes," Amy nodded. "And common courtesy. Why do you want to come in so bad anyway?"

"Cause you and I need to talk, don't we?" Elijah questioned. "And this seems to be one of the few places around here where that could be done in relative privacy."

Amy opened her mouth to protest further, but Elijah had already let himself in the well-lit room and shooed all the women out, asking one to guard the door and not let anyone else come in until he said so. Then he turned to Amy and cleared his throat.

"Do you mind if I go to the bathroom before we do this?" Amy questioned, squirming a little. "It's kind of an emergency."

"Please go ahead," Elijah nodded and leaned against the row of sinks. "I'll wait."

Amy rolled her eyes and locked herself in the toilet stall, quickly doing what she had to do and then coming out.

"Your skirt is a bit hiked up," Elijah remarked as she shut the stall door behind her, a smirk on his face. "Would you like me to fix it for you?"

"No thanks," Amy replied, trying not to blush as she reached behind her and found, to her chagrin that he was correct. "Thanks for warning me, though, so I didn't go back out there and make an idiot of myself."

"Oh, it's dark, so I don't think anyone would have noticed for a while," Elijah assured her. "But just the same, I think it was a good idea for you to straighten yourself out beforehand."

She came toward him and they just looked into one another's eyes without saying a word. He reached out, she gasped and stepped back, tripping a little on her heel. He grabbed her so she didn't fall, and then he bent his head and kissed her as she threw her arms around his neck.

She allowed the kiss to be a lingering one, but when he finally let her stand upright, she was frowning.

"What?" Elijah asked. "What was wrong with that? I would think you wouldn't have let it go on so long if you hadn't liked it."

"No, it's not that," Amy shook her head. "It's not that. I _did_ like it. But Elijah, this is a bathroom, for crying out loud! We can't just make out or do more than that in a _bathroom_! It's unsanitary!"

"Oh, I agree," Elijah nodded. "The mood just overtook me, otherwise I would have waited." He paused, then took her in his arms again. "Are you saying that you'd not mind kissing again as long as we did it somewhere else?"

"Yes," Amy nodded. "I'm sure I would. And then maybe….we could start over? Go see a movie or something?"

"Go out for a drink?" Elijah moved her hair out of her eyes and cupped her face in his hands.

"I told you, I'm holding off drinking for a while," Amy reminded him. "And I'm not breaking that vow, even for you."

"But you're serious about giving me a second chance?" Elijah questioned.

"Yes, I am," Amy nodded. "Unless you plan to engage in that same caveman behavior like you did before. Cause I won't tolerate that."

"No," Elijah shook his head. "I won't do that, I promise. I don't know what I was thinking. I don't do things like that to someone I love. I guess I was just so scared of losing a person who understands me so well that I behaved irrationally."

"Did you just say that you love me?" Amy asked. "If you did, would you mind saying it again?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded, his fingers threading through her red hair. "I love you, Amy."

She smiled. "I love you too. Now, what do you say we get out of this bathroom and go anywhere else in this club?"

"I'd like that," Elijah nodded, finally opening the door and allowing the woman guarding it to step aside and let others in. "Let's go."

* * *

"Isn't it a boon that it's so dark in here?" Klaus asked as he led AnnaLynne onto the dance floor, put his hands around her waist, and began dancing with her.

"Why would it be a boon?" AnnaLynne asked. "Are you planning on copping a feel and are glad that no one will notice?"

"Would you love it or hate it?" Klaus asked as he twirled her, her bright pink dress glowing under the black lights.

"Well, I think I deserve something like that happening," she pouted. "Cause when you answered your door, you were wearing clothes. You lied to me."

"Where's the fun if you know it's going to happen?" Klaus asked as he pulled her close and hiked up her skirt so he could cup her bottom.

"Good point," AnnaLynne conceded, then gave him a slap and kissed him. They then continued to make out and touch each other in the dark as the pulsing music played around them and were very much put out when it stopped and Dorian came on the stage, a spotlight illuminating him in the dark.

"Sorry to interrupt the fun everyone, but I just wanted to take a few minutes to welcome you to The Underground. I understand that there are some tensions between my friends and I and all the rest of you supernatural creatures. This club is my way of telling you that there's nothing to worry about. This is a place for werewolves, witches, vampires, and anyone else to mingle with my fellow demons, maybe even make a friend or two, and learn that we're not as bad as we might seem. Cause we're really not. All right, have fun all!" He stepped away from the microphone and the music started again as he walked around the club with his flashlight, looking at the couples who were dancing, surprised that some of them were other supernatural creatures with demons. This was good. It meant that there was actually a chance that they could actually have other demon hybrids besides his and Selina's children and his grandchildren running around someday.

* * *

After his father's speech about the purpose of the club, Eric was feeling even more resolute about what he and Sophia needed to do, but when she finally showed up with Lilith and Caleb, he decided to follow Patrick's advice and talk about other things first.

"Hello, Sophia," he said, approaching her.

The closer he got, the more she backed away, until he finally said, "I'm not going to hurt you or drag you off against your will or anything. I just want to talk!"

"Yeah, about what?" Sophia asked. "You've only been able to have one conversation for the longest time and you know how I feel about that?"

"I actually just wanted to know how you felt about the club," Eric corrected her. "And I wonder if you'd like to dance with me. I really like your dress."

Sophia heard what he had to say and then turned to Lilith and her uncle. "Should I do it?" She asked. "Should I dance with him?"

"If that's what you want," Caleb told her. "We'll be right here watching you. We won't even blink."

"Yeah, so go ahead and have fun," Lilith added as Sophia made some hesitant steps toward Eric. "Who knows? You might be glad."

"Are you sure?" Sophia questioned.

Lilith gave Eric a keen glance and asked, "If she goes with you, will there be any shenanigans? Are you going to be troublesome? Be honest."

"No!" Eric shook his head. "Not bad shenanigans, anyway. Only ones that she agrees to."

"Damn right," Sophia nodded. "If you're not lying to me, I guess I'll spend time with you."

"Oh, how generous," Eric remarked dryly. He took her hand and led her away from Caleb and Lilith and gestured at a couch. "Why don't we sit? Then we can talk."

"Is it about babies, cause I don't want to talk about babies," Sophia replied. "I don't think I have the strength for that. It took all I had in me just to get dressed and come here."

"Well, why do you think that is?" Eric asked. "It's not normal for you to be sick, is it?"

"I don't know," Sophia shrugged. Then she lay down with her cheek on one of the neon green pillows of the sofa. "I just want to sleep…"

"If this is you saying you don't want to talk to me, you could have just said that from the start," Eric pointed out.

"Oh, for god's sake!" She cried. "Not everything is about you, Eric!" Then her eyes widened and she stood up, clutching her stomach and running to the bathroom as Eric was left speechless and alone on the sofa.

* * *

Meanwhile, his father was chatting up Sam, and Roxie, who'd been specially invited by him.

"I just wondered," he remarked in an offhand way, "if I couldn't convince the two of you to come work here for me?" He eyed Roxie. "We're going to need a manager who knows what they're doing and you have the experience." He turned to Sam. "And did you say that you played an instrument? Live music wouldn't hurt."

Sam chuckled. "You know, Leslie asked me to ask you if you could give me some work," he told Dorian.

"She did?" Roxie cried, "Why? Is what I'm offering suddenly not good enough for her?"

"She seems to think it wouldn't hurt me to have a bit of variety in my work," Sam remarked. "Don't worry, I told her I liked working with you."

"Well, of course if you'd _like_ to work somewhere else, either from time to time or altogether, go ahead," Roxie huffed. "As for me, thank you for the offer, Mr. Gray, but I don't see myself leaving my bar anytime soon."

"I thought you would say that," Dorian nodded. "But if you're ever in the mood for something a little different, it's a standing offer."

"Thank you," Roxie nodded. "I'll keep it in mind if by some freak of nature, I don't have my bar anymore."

* * *

Meanwhile, AnnaLynne was on her way to the bathroom after she and Klaus had spent some time doing shots with a group of white ones, who were very surprised about the high tolerance both had.

"Damn bladder," she cursed. "Always interrupting my fun." It was then that she was grabbed around the waist and a hand was put over her mouth.

"Don't move," whispered a voice in her ear. "Don't speak, don't even breath. I know you're a demon. I know you want to destroy us. That's not going to happen. We're going to destroy you,first. And the explosives that are in the utility room are going to blow this place up any minute now."

AnnaLynne's eyes widened and she squirmed to try and get away, but some sort of magic was put on her by another man so she became unable to move as she was taken out behind the building that contained the club (one of the warlocks used magic to zap them out) and a bunch of vampires and some warlocks, all men who worked for Mikael and John, were waiting. The goons threw AnnaLynne down on the ground, put a gag in her mouth, tied her hands and feet, and then everyone began to kick and hit her without mercy.

When she was bloody, swollen, and bruised, the beating finally let up, and the spell that had kept her immobile was removed. As a final humiliation, they took her purse and ran off, leaving her injured on the ground.

Covered in blood and full of pain, AnnaLynne tried to move, but couldn't. Then the boom happened, and she thought that maybe she'd been lucky not to be in the club after all.


	56. The First Response

AnnaLynne lay on the ground for several minutes, covered in blood and barely able to move. Her phone was gone, and she had no idea how else to contact anyone to tell them what had happened to her. Was this it? Would she die out here? Kind of a sad and pathetic end for a demon. She shut her eyes and waited to die, but then heard a very distressed voice: "AnnaLynne? AnnaLynne, what the fuck have you done to yourself? Why is there so much _blood?"_ She opened her eyes and saw a very worried Klaus Mikaelson looming over her, moving some bloody hair off her face before picking her up and bringing her back inside, and then calling out to someone to come and get her while he boosted himself through a gaping hole and into the now ruined club.

Dorian was the one who came to get her and the sight of his daughter so covered in blood and nearly dead caused him a lot of distress.

"Are you really crying over me, Daddy?" AnnaLynne got out. "I didn't know you cared."

"Please don't joke," Dorian ordered. "Now's not the time." He then locked eyes with Klaus. "Thank you for saving my daughter. Since we have a lot to deal with here, would you take her to the hospital?"

"Since she's a demon, I don't know what hospital will take her, but I can watch over her at my house," Klaus offered. "Would that be all right?"

"Yes," Dorian nodded. "Thank you."

Klaus inclined his head and went to check on his brother before taking AnnaLynne out to his car and driving her to his house.

* * *

When they arrived and he set her down in bed, tucking her in and offering her blood. "It'll heal you up real fast," he added unnecessarily. "Let me do it, please."

But to his surprise, AnnaLynne refused him, wincing and shaking her head. "I don't think that's a good idea. There's no point. Look how hurt I am. I'm not gonna survive this. I'm surprised I haven't died already."

"So you're just giving up?" Klaus sighed. "AnnaLynne, I'm disappointed in you. I would have thought you'd fight harder, especially since you haven't seen me without a towel yet. If you haven't given up on that dream, you have to fight!" It was hard on him to see her so injured and hopeless. He never thought he'd say it, but he missed the woman who'd popped up in the backseat of his car without being invited. Who annoyed the crap out of him night and day. If this was alternative, he'd take that any day.

"What if I told you I wanted you to fight for us?" He asked, taking her hand and squeezing it. "Then would you try?"

"Oh, come on," AnnaLynne gave a chuckle. "There's no 'us'. You don't want there to be. You're just letting yourself get swept up in emotion. We have to face reality, not get lost in fantasy. I want you to do me a favor."

"Sure," Klaus nodded. "Anything."

"Get me one of your shirts please," she requested. "If I can be holding onto it when I die, smelling your smell, it'll be a great comfort to me and I won't be scared."

He tried to protest again about how she didn't _need_ to die. That she was wasting a life that still had a lot to give, but realized it would be no use. He went to get her the shirt as requested, and also a warm and damp towel to wipe the blood off her with.

After he could see her eyes and face again, he asked one more time, "Are you sure you want to give up? That you just want to die?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" AnnaLynne asked. "All my life, I've been nothing but a burden and this is a perfect chance to free everyone from a responsibility I know they never wanted."

"If you're so determined, will you let me do one last thing for you?" Klaus questioned. "I'll have to give you a little bit of blood to make it work cause I need to move you, but not so much that you'll be saved."

"All right," AnnaLynne asked, jolted out of her thoughts of death and suddenly curious. "What…what is it that you want to do for me?"

"I'm not telling you," Klaus replied, giving her as big a smile as he could muster. He gave her enough blood so that he could carry her into the bathroom and lay her down so that her hair hung over the edge of the tub and her feet hung over a small bench he'd gotten from another part of the house. He deftly washed all the blood out of her hair, then dried it and combed it, running his fingers through its softness. "You have such nice hair," he told her.

"Thank you," AnnaLynne replied, her voice a bit stronger now. "I've always liked it myself."

He then picked her up and put her back in bed. "All right , one more thing we have to do if you're so determined to die. I don't want you to go out looking like mess. If you were to get a new dress, do you want another pink one?"

"What?" AnnaLynne asked in amazement. "Are you saying that if I asked you to, you could go and pull out another hot pink dress in my size at this moment?"

Klaus grinned. "Do not question my powers, grasshopper. Just tell me if that's what you want."

"Yes, please!" AnnaLynne nodded.

So he brought in a few pink dresses and showed them to her. "Which one?" He asked.

AnnaLynne was dying to know where the dresses had come from, but she didn't want to spoil the mood. She picked a very simple one with a floaty skirt and spaghetti straps. Then he helped her get into it and laid her back down on the pillows.

"All right, you look much better now," he said. "Do you need anything else before you die?"

AnnaLynne looked into his eyes, at his look of genuine concern as he put a warm hand on her face. "N-no," she replied, her voice shaking. "No, I think I'm good." She picked up the shirt and inhaled deeply, rubbing the soft black material against her cheek, taking Klaus' hand as he gave her the softest kiss on the lips, and then just waited for the inevitable end, even though a small part of her mind thought that if she was lucky and it didn't come, maybe being with Klaus wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.

* * *

Since the explosion had basically caused a cave-in, everything was chaos and everyone was wading through a giant mess looking for their loved ones. While his father worried about AnnaLynne and Selina, Eric was looking for Sophia and hoping with all his might that she wasn't badly hurt.

"Sophia?" He called as he walked past the remains of the bathroom. "Sophia, are you in here? You better not be dead!"

"I _am_ in here!" Sophia called. "The door blew off its hinges and I'm holding it up. Please come help me. It's very heavy!"

"Oh, geez!" Eric cried. Together, they worked on moving the door and propping it up against a wall, then Eric grabbed Sophia and held her close. "You're not hurt, are you? You don't look hurt."

"I'm fine, but there's someone in here that's hurt. Really hurt. I tried to save her but I couldn't _and_ hold the door open at the same time."

"It's okay, you did great," Eric assured her as they headed into the ruins of the bathroom. "But just so you know, you scared me half to death! Don't do anything like that again. Just please don't." Sophia nodded and Eric turned into his demon self, pushing debris out of the way, including a door blown off a bathroom stall that was on top of a very injured and unconscious Amy.

"Oh, my god!" Sophia cried. "What should we do?"

"I'll go get Elijah," Eric told her. "You stay here with her in case she opens her eyes or whatever."

"All right," Sophia called after him. "I will!"

Eric and Elijah returned not long after and Elijah took Amy in his arms.

"When we found her, she had one of the bathroom stall doors on top of her," Eric explained. "I think it was either that or hitting the floor really hard that knocked her out." He paused. "Are you going to take her to the hospital? I think you should."

"I know that, but how easy is it to get out of here?" Elijah asked. "Has someone called the hospitals? Are ambulances coming? I don't think I should just take her out. It could end up making things worse."

"All right," Eric and Sophia shrugged. "Whatever you want to do."

They left and Elijah looked down at Amy and sighed. She had a large bump on her head, and as he looked down, he saw blood soaking her skirt. "Oh, damn," he whispered and took her out of the room and to one of the tables that wasn't completely destroyed, hoping that whatever was happening either wasn't too bad, or that the ambulances were coming and fast. And if they weren't, he would give her blood. He wasn't sure if she wanted it, but she wasn't healing as fast as she should be, so there was no other way to save her life.

* * *

After being assured of the whereabouts of his children, Dorian began calling for Selina. He found her and breathed a sigh of relief, pulling her close and hugging her hard. "I am so glad you're all right!" He cried. "I mean, I thought you were going to be because you're a vampire, but one never knows."

"Yeah, except for a good dress being ruined, I'm pretty much unharmed," Selina reassured him. She coughed as she tried not to breath in smoke and dust, and then asked, "Is everything all right with you? Are your kids okay? I need to find mine. I can't help but feel this is all my fault! It's not gonna endear me to the demon public, that's for sure. Cause this was caused by someone I invited. I know it."

"It could have been," Dorian nodded. "But it could also have been caused by one of my demon enemies. Don't blame yourself just yet." He gave her a kiss and a nudge and she ran off to find her kids, hoping that they would all be all right. Cause she didn't want to lose any of them. Not a single one. It was just like being in war, and she knew that she couldn't leave anyone behind.

While she was gone, Dorian went and found Elijah, who was with Eric and Sophia, who watched over Amy. "You, get up!" Dorian ordered. When Elijah didn't immediately obey, he grabbed him by the neck and pulled him up to his toes. "You did this, didn't you? Admit it! You couldn't get over the fact that I found happiness with your ex-wife so you decided to ruin it for me." He began to squeeze. "I thought about humoring you at first. I thought, 'He's a fool, but he's grieving. He won't be a threat to me. But I was wrong, wasn't I?"

Eric asked Sophia to zip into the main room and find Selina as he tried to get his father to drop Elijah before he had the man's blood on his hands. "I know you're mad," Eric whispered. "But you have to save Elijah's life. If not just out of the goodness of your heart, because he's the husband of Selina's best friend, and think how upset Selina will be if you make her friend a would-be widow."

After Selina and Eric finally pulled Dorian and Elijah apart, he gave Amy some blood and got her to swallow. She opened her eyes a crack. "Elijah?" She asked. "Elijah, is that you?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded and tried not to cry at the sight of her beautiful blue eyes opening. "You're awake, you're all right. You got hit by a door and knocked unconscious, but you'll be fine."

"I don't know," Amy shook her head. "I got…I got hurt and I don't know if I'll be fine."

"I have a question and if you don't remember the answer, that's fine. But before you went to the bathroom, you want to tell me something important," Elijah prompted. "What was it?"

Amy immediately froze. Even now she couldn't tell him. She gazed into his hopeful eyes, feeling like a liar and a fraud. She faked a faint and didn't open her eyes, even as Elijah walked her out to his car and drove her to the hospital cause he didn't feel like waiting for the ambulance any longer.

* * *

When he was gone, Selina put a hand on Dorian's shoulder. "Would you like to talk about what just happened?" She asked.

"I know he did it," Dorian huffed. "If he says anything else, he's lying!"

"I understand how you might feel that way given your past interactions," Selina agreed as she put an arm around him. "But think about it: He had children here, and Amy, and even me! He wouldn't hurt us on purpose. He's too smart to take a risk like that."

Dorian took a few deep breaths and nodded. "Oh, I suppose you're right," he agreed. "If I need a scapegoat, I'm going to have to pick someone else."

"Or you could find out who actually did it," Selina suggested and kissed his cheek as she felt his shoulders lose their tension. Then she looked around the club and sighed at the mess. She'd worked so hard and now it was all ruined. Thank goodness she and Jeannette had saved the receipts for everything so that it would be easy to fix up. "We're gonna rebuild, right?" She asked.

"Well, of course!" Dorian assured her. "To not do so would be cowardly!"

"Yeah, I thought you would say that," Selina nodded. "And I want you to know that when I invited everyone, I had no idea this would happen. I just wanted everyone in my life to try and get along."

"I know that," Dorian told her and gave her a hug. "That's why you're not in any trouble."

"Good," Selina sighed. "I wondered." She paused. "Do demons have a hospital of their own? I was thinking that maybe I could visit later and try to raise morale or something."

"You know, that's not a bad idea!" Dorian smiled. "Good thinking. See, I told you that you could do this without any trouble."

"Yeah," Selina smiled. "I guess you were right."

"And I forgot to ask, are your children all right?" Dorian wanted to know. "Did they make it out okay?"

"They did," Selina nodded. "Thanks for asking."

"You're welcome," Dorian told her, then kissed her hair as they continued to survey the damage from the blast, which was much easier now that there were fewer people running around heedlessly.

* * *

When Elijah got Amy to the hospital, she was immediately taken from him by the doctors and all he could do was sit in the waiting room and worry about what was happening to her.

It seemed like he had been waiting for hours when a doctor finally emerged to speak to him. "Are you the doctor who's attending to Amy, the redhead I came in with?" Elijah cried. "Is she all right? Please tell me she's all right. What happened to her?"

He was clutching the doctor's coat now, his eyes wide and his tone desperate.

The man gently detached him before saying in a calm voice, "She had a pretty bad knock on the head as well as some other injuries and I'm sorry to say that your baby is gone…but other than that, with some rest, she should be all right."

"Baby?" Elijah's eyes widened. "Oh, my god! What baby? Which room is hers?"

"She was pregnant," the doctor said, looking confused, his dark eyes full of concern. "You didn't know?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "That's probably what she was trying to tell me before she left for the bathroom!" He asked the doctor again for Amy's room number and then sped off. He quickly found her room and saw that she was awake, but when he heard her loud sobbing, he hesitated to go inside. Instead, he just sat in the hallway, staring at the floor, stunned as he thought about how close he'd come to being a parent again. And it all made sense. This shouldn't have been a surprise to him. Her refusing to drink, her constant need to use the bathroom, that glow…and her face was a bit fuller too. Oh, god, he'd been so _blind!_

He continued to sit there with his head in his hands until he heard her calling him. "I know you're out there, Elijah. If you want to come in, I'd like that very much."

He got up and went to her, and together they held hands and cried. Then she smiled through her tears, saying, "Were you sitting on the floor out there? In your new pants?" It was an attempt to lighten the mood, but Elijah wasn't in a state of mind to laugh.

"I don't give a damn about my pants," he told her. "How do you feel? Physically, I mean."

"Not bad," Amy told him. "But the doctors want to keep me overnight for observation."

"Well, that's not going to happen," Elijah shook his head and deftly detached her from all the machinery before picking her up and carrying her out of the hospital room. "Now that we know what's wrong with you, I don't see any reason for you to be here any longer." He took her out of the room, ignoring doctors who told him that he couldn't leave with her yet.

"Maybe you should listen to them," Amy suggested. "They know what they're doing, after all."

"I don't give a fuck what they think," Elijah replied. "I know I can heal you a lot faster and more efficiently than they can so you're coming home with me."

"What did we say about you just picking me up and kidnapping me?" Amy asked with a sniffle as she wiped her eyes, although she wasn't frightened this time so much as exasperated. "You promised me we wouldn't go through this again."

"Tell me honestly," Elijah shot back, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to spill out of his eyes cause he was frustrated with _her_ too. "Would you really rather be here, attached to machines and watched over like a side show attraction than at home in our bed? Would you?"

"No," Amy admitted. "I wouldn't. I wanna go home. Please take me home, Elijah."

"I will," Elijah assured her. "I promise."

* * *

"You need to eat," Selina insisted, plopping a bag of fast food down in Dorian's lap. He'd just been supervising the extinguishing of a fire in one of the parts of the club and was sooty and tired. "I know it's not healthy and you probably hate it, but it's better than nothing."

"Thank you," Dorian replied as he took out a chicken sandwich and some fries. "Everyone who's died has been cleared away and the ambulance took a bunch of people away too. This couldn't have been more of a disaster if we'd planned it that way." He sighed and began shoveling fries into his mouth.

Selina put an arm around him and rested her head on his shoulder. "I know it looks bad, but it's not our fault. We shouldn't blame ourselves. Someone sabotaged us!"

"Yes," Dorian nodded. "Probably to start trouble."

"What happens now?" Selina asked. "Whatever it is, you know I'm behind you all the way, right?"

"Yeah, I do," Dorian nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Selina grinned, showing her teeth. "If it's a fight they want, it's a fight they're gonna get!"

Dorian hugged her. "Truer words have not been spoken," he agreed, kissing her as they sat alone in what had once been a lively, bustling room.


	57. Reconstruction

"Mikael, where did you put the paper?" Gwen asked just before lunch the next day. "I didn't do the crossword puzzle and I want to. You didn't throw it away, did you?"

"Yes, I did," Mikael nodded. "It was really wet when I found it, so you wouldn't have been able to do your crossword puzzle even if you had it." This was a fib, of course. He'd tossed the paper when he'd realized that there was an article about the explosion of the Underground on the front page.

"It didn't even rain today!" Gwen protested. "Where's the paper? What are you hiding?" She went and looked all over for the paper, finally finding it crumpled up in the recycling in the garage. And just as Mikael had thought she would, she found the article right away.

"Nightclub called 'The Underground' Explodes on Opening Night'." She shut the paper and glared at him. "Wasn't that the name of Selina's club?" She came close to him, the paper rolled up in her hand. "What did you do, Mikael? Tell me everything. Don't leave a single thing out."

"I don't have to tell you anything!" Mikael cried. "Why do you always have to be in my business, woman? Why can't you just let me do what I need to do?"

"So are you telling me that you _were_ responsible for the bombing, or the destruction, or whatever you want to call it?" Gwen smacked him on the arm with the paper. "What could make you think you needed to do something like that? Innocent people were killed!"

"And so were demons, Gwendolyn!" Mikael cried. "I'm not going to sob my eyes out or feel guilty about some collateral damage when it also means that there are fewer demons in the world who could kill us! They're a danger to you too, Gwendolyn. Don't you forget that."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "I guess the damage has been done and nothing I say will stop you from any continued attacks you have in mind, right?"

"Right," Mikael nodded. "So what's my punishment? Am I banished to the couch?"

"Oh, no, of course not," Gwen shook her head. "I know by now that that won't teach you anything, will it?"

"No," Mikael grinned, "Not really."

Gwen rolled her eyes. It really was unbelievable, but she didn't know why she was surprised. This was just how he was. But that didn't mean she had to be that way too. She scoffed at him and gave him a slap to the back of his head before striding off and locking herself in their bedroom, hoping that something like this wouldn't happen, but figured it probably would. And she bet that Mikael wasn't the only one behind the plot, either. There _had_ to be someone else working with him. She wondered who it was.

* * *

Because Freya didn't have the same knowledge about the club that Gwen did, she didn't go after John right away when the article about the bombing showed up in the paper. But it didn't take her long to catch on.

"Listen to this," she said as they sat at the breakfast table with Ingrid's high chair next to Freya. "There was a bombing at a club yesterday. Lots of people were killed." She put the paper down. "What sort of a lunatic would just do that?"

John smirked. "I don't know why that shocks you," He said. "Haven't you killed before?"

"Well, yes, but it was because I had to," Freya pointed out. "A girl's gotta eat, you know. This seems like it was just for kicks."

"Or it could be because whoever it was wanted to save the world they know from evil, insane demons," John shrugged. "That could also be. And it's really heroic, I think."

"Is that self-praise?" Freya wanted to know as she rose to her feet. "Did you blow up that club? Did you cause the deaths of all those people?"

"Of course not," John shook his head. "Don't be silly. Mikael and I have people to do things like that for us."

"So basically the answer is 'Yes'," Freya nodded. "Of course." She then began running after him and kicking him in the ankles for a bit, grabbed a cleaver and held it over her head. It was then he pulled Ingrid from her high chair and held her in front of his chest. "You wouldn't hurt a man who's holding your child, would you?" He asked.

"Oh, shit," Freya huffed and put the cleaver down.

John kissed the bit of dark hair on Ingrid's head and said, "Thank you for saving me from your crazy mother."

"If you ask me, you're the one who's crazy," Freya told him. "Putting bombs in public places where a bunch of innocent people could be killed."

"How would you feel if the demons wanted to kill you personally?" John questioned as Freya took Ingrid from his arms. "Would you be so eager to save them then?"

"Of course not," Freya shook her head. "I value my own life. I'm not an idiot. If demons came after me, I would definitely dispatch them immediately. But to just kill all of them…that's a bit much, don't you think?"

"No," John shook his head. "Unless we take a stand, it'll be easier for them to overrun us. We have to show them that we're stronger than they are."

Freya narrowed her eyes at him. "You do realize that it's your fault that the demons are here in the first place, don't you?"

"Yes," John nodded and went back to his eggs. "And now I'm trying to fix it. Why are you yelling at me for trying to make up for my mistake? What do you want from me? Make up your mind."

Freya just rolled her eyes and didn't respond, deciding to go get Ingrid some strained bananas instead because there was no point in asking John about this anymore. There really wasn't.

* * *

"So tell me again what happened at the club when it blew up," Malachai told Kai. "Were you hurt? None of the coven were hurt, were they?"

"Not that I saw," Kai replied. "It was really a shame that the place blew so fast. It was really fun! I was having a really good time until the kaboom!"

"Well, I think we know who's responsible for that," Malachai replied, his tone dark. "John. I mean, think about it. All the kids from the coven were invited, so were you and me, and Helene…it _seemed_ all copacetic, but I bet John brought us there to blow us all up. I bet the club was just a cover for an operation that will kill us." He grinned. "It was really shoddy work if that was the point of it all."

"So you think that that guy's speech about the club making demon friendships was all bullshit?" Kai asked.

"Of course it was! Malachai replied. "That guy is in league with John. And of course he wouldn't _say_ the whole point of the club was to get rid of my coven and the people nearest and dearest to me. That would be utterly stupid. But then again, you can't discount anything when it comes to John or his minions."

"You think they'll try and rebuild?" Kai asked.

Malachai nodded, his eyes narrowing. "When he finds out that he didn't kill the people he wanted to? Of course he will. It's only a matter of time, Kai."

* * *

Despite initially going along with AnnaLynne's plans to die after her attack, Klaus finally tired of watching her suffer, since she wasn't dying, but wasn't healing, and finally decided to take her life into his own hands. But he knew he would have to be sneaky about it if he was gonna be successful. So, he went to see Addie and asked her about how to inject things into the body.

"What things?" She asked suspiciously. "Grandpa, don't tell me you're gonna start taking drugs. It's not smart."

"Oh, no," Klaus shook his head. "It's nothing like that. This woman that I might have feelings for was injured in that night club explosion and I want to heal her but I have to be stealthy about it, or she won't let me. I was thinking of injecting blood into her. Can you teach me how to do that? I've never done it with a syringe before."

"Sure, I can teach you," Addie nodded, relieved that her grandfather wasn't picking up more bad habits than he already had. "Or I can inject her myself, if you want."

"No, that would raise too much suspicion," Klaus told her. "Just tell me what to do so that it's safe and I'll do it."

So Addie gave Klaus a lesson on how to safely inject with a syringe, which was paused momentarily when Vince came upon them.

"What are you doing?" He asked nervously. "Have you started using again? Do we have to take you to rehab? What are you taking?"

"I'm not taking anything," Addie quickly assured her father. "Grandpa is just dealing with someone who's very sick but she won't take blood from him directly, so he's wanting to inject it into her instead."

"I don't know if that's a good idea if it's something they don't want," Vince told her.

"She's convinced she's going to die, Vince," Klaus told him. "She was at that club that got blown up. She was beaten up pretty badly before it happened and she's been lingering for days. It hurts to see her in so much pain when I know I could fix it."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck," Vince told him. "And Addie, now that he knows what he's doing, I don't want you going with him."

"I won't," Addie assured her father. "I _swear._ "

"Good," Vince told her and gave her a hug. "That's what I want to hear."

Klaus bade his granddaughter goodbye, put the syringe in a bag, and when he got home, he stuck the needle in his arm and filled the syringe with blood. Then, he went to the room where AnnaLynne was convalescing, hoping she was asleep, cause putting blood in her would be much easier that way.

Just as he came in the room, her eyes opened. "Klaus, there you are! Where did you go? I…" she winced then, putting a hand on her stomach. "Oh, god that hurt."

"That's it," he said. "I know you told me you didn't want me giving you any blood, but it doesn't seem like you're as close to death as you wanted me to believe and I can't stand watching you suffer.

"No!" She cried and tried to hold him off. "I know you want to give me blood and stuff, but I just…no."

"Why not?" Klaus cried. "Why are you so against it?"

"The thought of drinking blood just makes me sick, okay?" AnnayLynne cried. "If you tried to give it to me, I'd just puke it all back up again so what's the point?"

"What if I told you there was another way?" He asked, pulling out the syringe.

"Oh, god," she cried, her eyes wide as she pulled the covers over her head. "No needles! No needles!"

"Not needles too," Klaus rolled his eyes. "What sort of demon are you? You're scared of everything."

"Shut up!" AnnaLynne cried. "If you try and stick that in me, I'm going to punch you in the face!"

Klaus then wrestled with the covers for a bit, wondering if his vampire powers would work on a demon. Cause if he could just make her sleep…

Then he just grabbed her arm and stuck the needle in, remembering just where to put it. As he watched the syringe empty, AnnaLynne let out a bloodcurdling shriek, and then once the syringe was empty, she punched him in the face before realizing that she felt a little stronger.

"Hey, that worked," she said. "Maybe this 'you giving me blood' thing isn't so bad after all."

"Good," Klaus smiled. "Glad you approve, because we're going to keep doing it until you get better. I would have done it even if you hadn't approved cause I think it's silly to just let yourself die. A real waste."

AnnaLynne smiled. "If I had died, would you have missed me?"

"Don't ask stupid questions like that," Klaus told her, his tone short. "It's nothing I want to think about."

* * *

He continued to give her blood over the next few days and she began to show real improvement. Klaus was sure of this because starting from when he first gave her blood, he would sleep on the floor next to her bed at night to make sure she wasn't suffering from any ill-effects from what he was doing. He tried to be gone by the time she woke up for good in the morning, but one night, she got up to go to the bathroom, exited on the wrong side of the bed, and he was caught.

"Fuck!" He cried as she inadvertently kicked him in the head.

She turned on the light and asked, "What are you doing down there? Is there something wrong with your bed?"

"No, I just…I've been staying here at night so I can help if something bad happens to you as a result of the blood in your system," Klaus replied.

"What bad stuff could happen to me?" AnnaLynne asked, crossing her arms and studying him.

"I don't know," Klaus shrugged. "I don't believe I've ever given blood to a demon before."

"All right," AnnaLynne turned and went to the bathroom and when she came out, she found Klaus sound asleep on the other side of the bed.

Rolling her eyes, she climbed in beside him and pulled the covers over him, a little surprised when, half asleep, he pulled her close to him, even though she shouldn't have been surprised at all. "I'm glad you're better," he mumbled.

"Yeah," AnnaLynne nodded and shut her eyes. "I'm glad I'm better too."

* * *

"Now, tell me again the logic behind unplugging all the phones and locking ourselves in our room?" Amy asked. "It's so we can spend time together without interruption, right? You're not just going nuts again, are you?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "I behaved very badly toward you. I was neglectful. This is my way to make up for it. Unless you don't want to spend a bunch of time in bed with me."

"Oh, no, I do!" Amy exclaimed. "I think it would be a nice idea." She gave him a smile and kissed him. "Do you think that maybe we could try for another child? Or do you want to wait to get married before we do that?"

"Not if you don't want to," Elijah shook his head. "I know this might surprise you, but Selina and I never waited."

"No, that doesn't surprise me," Amy smiled, then pulled him to her and kissed him deeply, her hands cupping his bottom and squeezing. Then she undid his pants and let them fall to the floor, and unbuttoned his shirt before leading him to bed.

"Now you undress _me_ ," she smiled. "We don't want to waste any time, do we?"

"No," Elijah grinned as he helped her off with her blouse, bra, and skirt before pushing her back down on the mattress and sucking gently on her nipples before kissing down her stomach to the waistband of her panties.

Amy was panting heavily now. "You're not gonna stop, are you?"

"Oh, no," Elijah grinned and shook his head as he slipped her panties off and kissed up both her inner thighs before pleasuring her slowly and gently with his tongue. She laid back, her eyes closed as she came closer and closer to climax. Then, just before she came, he paused, pulling her up to sit.

"What are you doing?" She asked, her eyes wide. "Do you know how close I am? You can't stop now!"

"Oh, don't worry," Elijah smiled. "I just have a little something else in mind." Then he pulled her to him and she moaned as she felt him bury himself deep, then pull out and push into her over and over again.

When they were both panting and exhausted, he pulled her close. "Sorry about that," he said as she lay her head on his shoulder.

"No, no need to be sorry," Amy told him. "It's not a problem."

"It's just that I was…I was thinking about…" He paused guiltily, not wanting to finish the sentence, so she finished it for him.

"You were thinking about the baby, weren't you?" She asked him in a hushed voice that broke as tears began trailing down her cheeks. "I am too, always. I haven't stopped thinking about it since I found out it was gone. But maybe it's for the best, you know? I mean, could you honestly look me in the eye and tell me that we're ready to have a _child_?"

"Well, it's not like we're new to parenthood," Elijah reminded her as he kissed her hair and rubbed her back. "Between the two of us, I think we could have handled it. If I'd have known, I would have been overjoyed, I just want you to know that. And I think that it goes without saying that we can handle any children we have in the future as well."

Amy nodded and threw her arms around his neck. "But can I make a request first?"

"Sure," Elijah nodded. "Anything."

"Can we get married before we have a child?" Amy asked. "Your brother and I never did. I'm not counting that thing that we went through on that island of his when we were both hammered. I've never had a real wedding before and…and I want one. It just seems like that could be the right way to start things out." She paused. "So…will you marry me?"

"Yes," Elijah smiled and kissed her. "Will you marry _me?"_

"Of course," Amy smiled. "I would love to!"

* * *

"I'm going to rebuild the club," Dorian promised Selina as she rested her head on his bare chest and he ran his fingers through her hair. He kissed the top of her head and then stroked her back until she fell asleep. Then he eased her onto her side of the bed and hopped out onto the bedroom floor, quickly dressing and sneaking out of the apartment. He transformed into a large black beast, savagely killing every person, male or female, that got in his way, slowly and painfully, until the smell of one made him pause and look up. It was Selina.

"Well, hello there," she smiled and scratched behind his ears, making special note of his blood-soaked snout. "You know, if you were going to go hunting, I wish you would have told me. I wasn't too tired to come with you. I heard you leave and I followed you. I'm surprised you didn't hear me."

He butted her hip with his nose, and then she remembered her dream. It had been a while since she had had a good run.

"I hope you don't mind a partner while you work out all your rage," she said. "Cause I'm mad too, so you're gonna get one!" Then she turned into a wolf and soon, they were running together in the darkness.

When they were both tired out after their murder spree, they found a secluded spot in the woods and turned back into human form, then Selina grinned as he fell on top of her and pulled her close to him, burying himself inside her over and over again. He looked so good bathed in moonlight. He really did.

"You look really good when the moonlight is shining on you," Selina whispered in his ear, smiling and showing bloodstained teeth. "I just thought I should tell you that."

Dorian smiled and licked some blood off her mouth. "Well, I'll have you know that I never tire of being called 'handsome'. Not one bit. I'm glad you sneaked out here with me tonight. I like…I like seeing you so happy. Hunting makes you happy, doesn't it?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "The two things in the world that make me feel most myself are you and hunting. And tonight, I got to have both at the same time."

Dorian grinned. "Well, anytime you want me to come out hunting with you, just say so. It's not like I'm going to tell you 'No'."

"I think we should make it a habit," Selina replied before straddling him and running her hands over his chest, her nails making little trails of blood in his flesh. She leaned down to lick them up, but he stopped her, cupping her face with his hands. "No, no," he smiled and clicked his tongue. "Not yet. Be patient."

She pouted and he kissed her as she began riding him hard, a wicked glint in her eye that he found very, _very_ arousing.


	58. A Visit From Across The Pond

"The postman messed up again," Faye said as she came into Junior's apartment with a bunch of letters in hand. "Where would you like me to put them?"

"Just on the table, please," Junior replied as he threw some more clothes into a nearly full laundry basket.

"Laundry time I see," Faye remarked. "Any special reason, or are you just out of underwear? Do you need any help?"

"Actually, I'm doing laundry because I'm leaving in a few days to go visit my family in America. I haven't seen them in a while and I'm getting a little homesick."

"How wonderful!" Faye clasped her hands together. Then she said, "You wouldn't mind if I came with you, would you? I would love to meet more of your family. I bet they don't even know about me anymore."

"Yeah, I don't think they know we have our own private fairy," Junior nodded. "Cause I didn't. But remember that Sarah is at home too and I want you to be nice to her."

"Oh, I intend to," Faye smiled. "I won't bother her, don't worry. I have other things on my mind than that."

"Other things like what?" Junior questioned.

"Let's just say there's someone out there in America who needs me a lot," Faye said, thinking of Todd as a man with dirty clothes and a messy apartment who couldn't organize to save his life. "Much more than you do. You don't mind, right?"

"Do you really need my permission to go have your own life?" Junior wanted to know. "Is that some sort of fairy rule?"

"A long time ago, it was," Faye nodded, her red hair bouncing on her shoulders. "We were sworn to serve one family and going outside of that was frowned upon, unless we had the permission of someone in our family. I mean, now that I've been apart from the McCulloughs for so many years, I doubt that it's much of an issue, but it doesn't hurt to bow down to tradition a bit."

"Okay, well, if that's what you need to hear, sure," Junior nodded. "When we get to America, you can do whatever you want. You can meet my family, you can pursue whoever this mystery person of yours is…that's not a problem."

"Thank you," Faye smiled and began sorting his clothes into a color pile, a white pile, and a dark pile. "Does it matter which load I put in first?" She asked. "I'll do colors cause it seems like that pile has most of your underwear in it. I like the boxers that have little fishes on them." She smiled, put the color laundry in the basket, and took it to the laundry room before Junior could say a word.

* * *

"Here's a fun story," Freya said to John when she found him in the music room playing Chopin on the piano while Ingrid sat in a seat on the floor nearby, an enthusiastic audience. "It seems that Junior's coming home from England to visit for a while."

"Is that so?" John asked, pausing with his fingers on the keys. "I'll have to visit him."

"And there's probably something else you should do too," Freya prompted. "Go to wherever it is that you dropped off their daughter because I _know_ that you didn't kill her, and get her so that they know she's not dead. And don't tell me you forget where it was cause that's a big fat lie."

"Why should I get the girl back?" John questioned. "The reason why I sent her away in the first place is because Sean and Sarah are much too young to be parents now."

"That's not your decision to make," Freya crossed her arms. "Go get her and bring her home before Sean gets here. It's not something we're negotiating about."

"What if, for some reason, that's not possible?" John asked.

"Then that's our bad luck, but you could at least try to reunite her with her family," Freya remarked and strode out of the room, shutting the door softly behind her.

John then turned his attention back to the piano, plinking piano keys individually with one finger before turning on the piano bench to face his daughter, taking her out of her seat, and holding her on his lap. "Ingrid, it seems your mother is angry with me. It also seems like I'll have to go away for a few days." He kissed her hair. "I'll miss you horribly, but you be good to your mother, all right? She means well."

* * *

He then left her with Freya and after struggling with the exact location of the orphanage where he'd left his granddaughter after her birth, he found it. And to his surprise, the second he came in the room, the woman who ran the place ran up to him and gave him a hug.

"Thank goodness you've come back," she said. "Are you here to take back your daughter?"

"Yes," John nodded, remembering that he'd passed her off as his daughter at first. "If she hasn't been adopted, that is. She's still here?"

"Oh, definitely," the woman nodded, becoming pale. "Are you aware that there's something a bit odd about her?"

"Is there?" John put a hand under his chin and played dumb. "Tell me what that would be."

"She has _fangs_!" The woman replied, waving her hands. "And magic powers! She might look like a normal baby, but she's not! Maybe it would be better if you didn't take her either. I wouldn't want to burden you with something like that."

"Thank you for your concern, but I think I can handle it," John assured her. "Where is she?"

"If you're absolutely positive, come with me," the woman replied. "But I want to warn you that what you'll see will most likely shock you."

"I've seen a lot of things," John told her. "There's very little that shocks me now." But he had to admit that when he walked into the room where his little granddaughter was confined, he _was_ a little shocked. The dark-haired, dark-eyed toddler was in a small cage that was floating several inches off the ground as she cried her eyes out and tried to gnaw on the bars.

"See?" The woman told John when she saw the look on his face. "I knew you'd be shocked. I also know that it looks bad, but we don't know what else to do with her. We've already had a priest come and bless her, but nothing he did worked."

"I see," John nodded. "I think I showed up just in time, didn't I?"

It took some time to get her out of the cage, but soon, she was free and quiet, nestled safely in John's arms. "Does she have a name?" He asked. "Or were you all too scared of her to give her one?"

"No, she doesn't have a name, but now you can have that honor as her father," the woman blushed. "That's a good thing, right?"

"Yes," John narrowed his eyes. "I guess so." He didn't say anything more, but instead strode out of the orphanage, and then paused as the door shut behind him, muttering a spell under his breath, then grinning as, with a wave of his hands, all the doors in the place locked, and the entire building went up in flames.

"Time for you to go home," he told his granddaughter, knowing that, for the time being, she would fit in well with him, Ingrid, and Freya. "I'm taking you to a much better place, I promise."

* * *

"I can't believe you brought _her_ with you," Sarah told Junior as she watched Faye chatting with Mary and Liam. "Why would you do that? What are you trying to prove? You moved on, I get it. There's no need to keep rubbing salt in the wound."

"I didn't bring her here to brag," Junior shook his head. "I wouldn't do that to you. She just wanted to meet the family, that's all."

"Why would she want to do that if the two of you aren't together?" Sarah asked. "There's no other reason."

"Actually there is," Junior nodded. "But I won't tell it to you because you'll think I made it up. In fact, I'm still not entirely sure she didn't make it up myself."

"The fairy thing," Sarah nodded. She'd heard about this from Todd. "I remember. It was how I got ice water all over me. Tell me why you came back, then."

"I should think the answer would be obvious," Junior told her as they locked eyes.

"Oh, no," Sarah began backing away. "Don't you try that trick on me." She tried to get rid of the feelings the look in his eyes gave her by turning and trying to run away, but he grabbed her, pulled her to him, and kissed her. She didn't return the kiss at first, but it didn't take long for that to change as one hand went in his hair and the other went around his waist and slid toward his bottom.

"Oh, no," she panted as they pulled apart. "It's happening again, isn't it?"

"What? You mean us being together after being apart for so long?" Junior questioned. "So what if it is? I don't know why you're talking like that's a bad thing."

"Well, of course it's a bad thing!" Sarah cried, grabbing his hand and pulling him into a room so they could have more privacy. "You remember what happened last time? Your father fucking kidnapped and tortured me! We get together, that could happen again and, call me crazy, but I really don't want a repeat performance."

"I understand, but I don't think that'll be a danger," Junior tried to reassure her. "John is comfortably settled with Freya now and he's found other people to cause trouble with now. I'm not one of them."

Sarah sighed, running her fingers through her dark hair. "I know you wouldn't lie to me just to get me in bed cause you're not that type of guy, but…if you don't mind, I want to…I want to have time to actually see if what you say is true before I commit. I hope you understand."

"Sure," Junior nodded and cupped her face with his hands. "I get it. No problem."

"However," She continued, grabbing the waistband of his pants and pulling him close against her. "So you don't feel like you came all this way for nothing, I suppose we could have the occasional span of alone time. That's not a problem, I guess."

"Well, how generous of you," Junior remarked and began undressing.

"You wanna start now?" Sarah chuckled. "There's no surprise." Soon she was naked as he was and, just like old times, they were holding onto each other tight as Junior ran his hands over every inch of her warm body, kissing her smooth, taut belly and relishing her giggle as he swirled his tongue around her belly button before parting her legs and rubbing her gently.

"Miss this?" He whispered.

"Oh, yeah," Sarah nodded. "Definitely."

Junior nodded and kissed her as she threw her arms around his neck and felt him bury himself inside her, pulling out and pushing in over and over as she laughed. She was still resolute about not wanting to be in a relationship with him again just yet, but she couldn't bring herself to say 'No' to this. She just couldn't.

* * *

"What is it?" Sarah huffed when she finally decided to talk to Faye, who'd been trying to get her to tell her about Todd since her arrival. "Why _on earth_ would you need to say anything to me?"

"Well, you seem to be under the mistaken impression that I have romantic designs on a man you want for yourself and I want to assure you that that couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, I need your help getting the attention of the man who really _does_ interest me."

"Oh?" Sarah asked, raising an eyebrow. "And who is that?"

"Your brother Todd," Faye replied, causing Sarah to burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Faye questioned.

" _Todd_?" Sarah got out. "Of all the men in the world that you could have, you picked _Todd?_ I can't wait to see this. Yeah, there's a bar down the street and he likes to hang out there, but it's his special place where he goes to be alone, so none of us have ever been invited." She wrote down the address. "Good luck. Hey, can I come too and watch? I have to see this to believe it."

"Sure, if you want to," Faye told her. "But I really don't think it'll be all that amusing."

"Just you wait," Sarah smiled. "I think it _will_ be."

* * *

"Oh, no, shit!" Todd whispered under his breath when he walked into The Silver Fox and saw a redhead sitting at his table. He'd never actually seen her before, but he knew who she was just by instinct, and how the hell she'd not only found his private place, but sat down at his table was beyond him. Then he saw Sarah, who was trying to hide himself behind her menu and failed. That was how. Damn her.

"Don't tell me you're Faye," he said as he took the only other chair at the table. "Why are you here? What did I do to deserve this?"

"Are you afraid that I've come to cause trouble for you?" Faye questioned. "Cause that's not my intention at all. I just had such a nice time talking with you on the phone that when Junior invited me to come and visit his family, I thought it could be a good chance to meet you too and see what you were like in person."

"Well, I'm a bitter, cranky, loner," Todd replied. "I don't like people, especially not perky ones. Do you need to know anything else?"

"Yes," Faye smiled. "What can I get you to drink?"

"So that's your plan," Todd nodded. "You're gonna get me drunk and then have your way with me."

"No, I'm not!" Faye shook her head. "I promise. Why are you so stubborn? I just want to get to know you!"

"Why?" Todd yelled and rose to his feet. "I told you there's nothing about me worth knowing! Why don't you go and find some cheerful guy who likes sunny days and bunnies and stuff. That's what you're into, right?"

"Why do you think that?" Faye asked. "Because I have a good attitude?"

"Yeah!" Todd shouted, getting right in her face. "Exactly."

People were staring now, but not in a bad way. Then someone began to shout, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" and soon the chant was taken up by the whole bar. A fight didn't happen, though. Instead, Faye and Todd stared at one another, daring each other to make the first move.

Finally, Faye narrowed her eyes and grabbed his face. "You stubborn ass," she whispered. "You brought this on yourself." Then she grabbed his face, kissed him hard, and then pushed him away before striding from the bar as he looked after her in shock and sank into his seat.


	59. A Gift Returned

"I'm very pleased you did what I asked," Freya told John and kissed him, then watched Ingrid and her niece next to each other on a blanket nearby. "Now, are you sure that's the right one?"

"Of course it's the right one!" John cried, feeling offended. They then watched as the officially nameless little girl (although John was fond of the name Eleanor and wasn't afraid to call her that) touched Ingrid's arm and she went flying up in the air. "See?" John asked as Freya went to grab her. "How could I not have gotten the right child? And I got her out just in time. They were treating her horribly. Had her in a cage cause they were scared of her magic. A _cage_ , Freya!"

"That's horrible, but what did you expect when you left her with humans?" Freya questioned. She cuddled the little girl until she heard a whimper at her feet, looking down and seeing an unhappy Ingrid grabbing her pant leg.

"Seems like someone's a bit jealous of their new friend," John smiled. "It's all right, Ingrid. Why don't you come and sit with me?"

For once, Ingrid was resistant to go with her father.

"This is something good to learn," Freya cracked. "If I want her to pay any attention to me, just play with someone else and then I'll have it."

"Of course," John nodded after finally pulling Ingrid away from her mother. "It's human nature, isn't it? We always want the most what we think we can't have. Or what someone else has."

Freya then looked down at the other baby, who, although she had seemed to have dark brown hair at first, now apparently had lighter brown hair now that she was in a room with more light, and smiled at her. "I love this little one so much! It's a shame she's not ours, so we can't keep her." Then she peered at John. "You know, based on how they treated her at that horrible place, I thought she would have been more hesitant to bond, but she doesn't seem frightened of me or us at all."

John shrugged. "Maybe that's because she senses that we're like her so she doesn't need to be afraid. Who knows?"

"Well, I'm just glad she's out of there and can finally start having a good life," Freya replied. "We'll probably have to give her back to her parents, though. Since they've gone all this time thinking that their child is dead, it would be wrong not to tell them otherwise."

"Yes," John nodded and bounced Ingrid on his lap. "Would you like me to tell them right away, or would you like time to say goodbye first?"

Freya sighed. "I know that what I'm about to say is wrong, but…I want a few days to say goodbye. Even though I just met her, I'm already in love with this baby."

"All right," John nodded. "I'll call Sean in a few days. And I'll suggest that they come _here_ to meet their daughter. If Sarah knows that you and Ingrid are present and it's not just me, she'll feel safer."

"Well, that's considerate," Freya remarked with surprise. "And a very good idea."

* * *

"Whatever your father wants me to do, I'm not doing it!" Sarah proclaimed when Junior told her about the very cryptic phone call he'd gotten from John that said he wanted to see both Junior _and_ Sarah at his and Freya's house, but he wouldn't tell them why. "He could want anything from us! This could be a horrible trick!"

"And what if it isn't?" Junior sighed. "What if he just wants to apologize for what he did?"

Sarah scoffed at this, "I'll believe it when I see it."

She strode off, and then Junior called John back to see what it was that he wanted. "Sarah thinks you're up to no good and she doesn't want to see you," he told John. "Are you up to something shifty?"

"No, I'm not," John replied earnestly. "I have…I have something I need to give to the two of you. Something you'll like, with an apology for a bad wrong I've done you. You'll be glad you came and so will she. Please bring her, even if you have to tie her up and throw her in the trunk. She'll be upset with herself if she doesn't see the surprise. I know it."

Junior paused and tried to interpret his father's words. He seemed sincere, but it didn't hurt to get a second opinion, and maybe hearing it from someone else would assure Sarah as well. "May I talk to Freya, please?" He asked.

"You don't believe me, do you?" John cried in exasperation. "Here I am, trying to be sincere and doing you a favor and you don't believe me!"

"I do!" Junior cried. "I'm only asking for a second opinion cause I think that it'll be easier for Sarah to believe in this plan if she hears about it from someone other than the man who kidnapped her and made her lose our baby. Do you understand?"

"Yes," John replied. "I suppose I do. Wait just a moment and I'll get Freya for you."

So Junior waited and called for Sarah to come to the phone while John went and got Freya. Then when Freya came on the line, Junior handed the phone over, saying "Freya is going to tell you what John is planning so you don't feel so nervous, okay?"

"All right," Sarah nodded. "Hello, Freya."

"Hi, Sarah," Freya replied. "I hope we'll see you at the house."

"Yes, I heard that John has a surprise for us," Sarah said. "Is it a bad surprise?"

"No, it's a very good one, I promise. You'll be very pleased to see it. It's not scary at all. And Ingrid and I will be at the house when you come, so it's not like you'll be stuck here alone with John, if that's what you're worried about."

"Well, that _is_ what I was worried about, but now I do feel better, thanks," Sarah told her. "When do you want Sean and I to come over?"

"Oh, whenever you feel like it," Freya replied. "We and your surprise will be waiting for you."

"All right," Sarah told her. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Freya returned.

The call ended and Junior said, "Do you feel better now?"

"Yes, I do," Sarah assured him. "Now I'm really eager to see what the surprise is. Are you ready to go?"

"Sure," Junior nodded. "Let's do it. Let's see what my father has in store for us."

* * *

When they arrived at John and Freya's, Freya was the one who met them at the door, smiling broadly. "So glad you could make it. Now, come to the living room, please, and in a few minutes, you'll have your surprise."

So Junior and Sarah sat on the edge of the living room sofa, finding it very hard to keep still, while Freya watching them, a smile on her lips, wondering what their reaction would be to meeting their baby girl for the first time. Or in Sarah's case, maybe the second. She wasn't sure how long John had let her see the baby after her birth, if he had at all.

Then, John came into the room, holding on to little Eleanor. Sarah rose to her feet, her jaw dropping. "Is that?...Oh, my god!" She fell to her knees and burst into tears.

"All right, what's wrong," Junior asked, glaring at John and then getting down on his knees beside Sarah. "What's the matter? Why are you so upset?"

"I-I'm not upset!" Sarah shook her head. "I'm stunned. Confused. Shocked."

"Why?" Junior asked.

"You see that baby John is holding?" Sarah pointed and sniffled.

"Yes," Junior nodded. "I see it. What about it?"

"Sean, she's _ours!"_ Sarah cried and then began crying again. "The one I thought was dead. She's not! She's right there!"

"Is Sarah right?" Junior asked his father in a hushed voice. "Is that our baby?"

"Yes," John nodded and held her out. "I was going to kill her. I thought about it at first. But then I put her in an orphanage because I wasn't sure that the two of you were ready to be parents."

"Well, that really wasn't your choice to make, now was it?" Sarah asked, her tears turning into anger. "How _dare_ you make me think my daughter was dead all this time! How could you do that? What is your _problem_?"

"At the time your daughter was born, I was swept up in my own plans," John said as Junior took his daughter. "I thought that Sean having a child would distract him, so that's why I did what I did to you, Sarah. And at the time, it didn't bother me a bit. Then, Ingrid came along and things changed. My outlook changed." He paused. "I know you won't believe this and Freya probably won't either, but…I've been planning on bringing your daughter back to you for a while now. I just needed to find the right time. And now you have her."

"Yes," Sarah nodded, taking a few deep breaths as Junior put the little girl in her lap. "I suppose I do. But I hope you don't expect a truckload of thanks for simply doing the right thing."

"No, I wouldn't dream of asking for thanks," John told her. "Now, onto more important things: what is it that you intend to name her?"

"Are you saying she doesn't have a name already?" Sarah asked. "Wouldn't they have given her one at the orphanage? What did they tell you about that?"

"It doesn't matter what they told us about naming her at the orphanage," John replied, a little more sharply than he intended. "She's young enough that she can adapt to a new name. I'm a bit partial to Eleanor myself, but I realize that's a bit old-fashioned and I'm not her parent, so you choose what you want."

Junior and Sarah stared at one another. Since they'd assumed their daughter was dead, everything they'd thought to name her had slipped from their minds.

"I kind of like the name Eleanor," Sarah said at last. "Ella or Ellie is a nice nickname." She turned to Sean. "Eleanor Charlotte?"

"Yes," Sean nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Sarah hugged her daughter to her chest. "I promise I won't become one of those mothers who never lets their child have a moment's peace," she told her daughter. "But for now, I don't want to let you out of my sight."

Eleanor didn't seem to mind this. She curled up in Sarah's arms and fell asleep.

* * *

Faye had taken a room at Mary and Liam's and was dressing after a shower when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. "Yes?" She called.

"Are you decent?" Liam called. "You have a visitor."

"Just a minute!" Faye called and put on a robe before opening the door and thanking Liam as an outraged Todd made his way into her room.

"Hello," Faye greeted him with a smile. "What can I do for you? You wanna take a seat and talk?"

"Hell, no!" Todd shook his head. "I just wanted to tell you that you're a menace and a terror and if you put your lips on me again, I'm gonna…I'm gonna…"

"Gonna what?" Faye asked. "I'm really interested to know.

"Oh, come on!" Todd groaned. "Can't you at least be a little intimidated by me?"

"How should I do that?" Faye asked. "Should I tremble a little?"

"Never mind!" Todd shook his head. "Just don't kiss me again, okay?"

"Fine," Faye scoffed. "It's not like I enjoyed it."

"Oh, of course you did!" Todd told her.

"So let me get this straight, you…you…you jerk!" Faye said. "I'm supposed to enjoy what you do to me, but you're so high and mighty that you're above admitting the effect I have on you."

"You and I just met," Todd told her. "How can you have an effect on me?"

"Let me show you," Faye replied, undoing her robe and letting it fall to her feet as Todd stared, open-mouthed.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He yelled, trying so hard not to look her over, but failing because she really _was_ very well-put together in all the right places.

"You wanna know something very interesting?" She asked as she strode toward him.

"Yeah, sure," Todd nodded, not even blinking as he reached out and put a hand on the bare skin of her middle. "What?"

"If I wanted to, I could have my way with you right now," Faye said. "I can see that you're falling for my charms already, which usually happens with men I come across, be they human, warlock, whatever. But don't worry. I wouldn't do that. Not when I know that part of the fun of all this is the idea of inspiring actual feeling in a man who tries so hard to hide it." She reached out and touched him, and when her warm fingers were on his skin, he seemed to snap out of her spell just by the force of sheer willpower.

"That's not gonna happen," he shook his head and backed away. "I'm not gonna let you do that to me!" He shut his eyes and backed into the closed bedroom door, fumbling around for knob and getting it open just as Faye reached for her robe again. He ran for dear life, and just as she had her robe tied up, Liam poked his head in.

"He ran out of here in sheer terror." He remarked. "Just what did you do to him?"

"Nothing," Faye replied. "Nothing truly dangerous, anyway. He's a man who's afraid of his feelings, and I think I inspired some in him and that's why he took off running."

"Ah, okay," Liam nodded. "I'll leave you to get dressed now."

"Thank you," Faye smiled. "And Liam, thank you so much for giving me a place here. I appreciate it."

"Well, you're welcome," Liam told her. "It's no trouble, really. After all, you're basically family, right?"

"Yes," Faye nodded. "In a way, you could say that I am."

Then he left and Faye finished dressing before going downstairs and fixing herself something to eat.


	60. Rising From The Wreck

Selina had just returned from another visit to the demon hospital and begun a book when Dorian came stomping into the apartment, a frown on his face. "How did the examination of the club go?" Selina questioned. "Do you know who set off the bombs?"

"Well, Elijah's off the hook," Dorian said. "I have that to be grateful for, at least. No, apparently, the people who set up the bombs worked for your former father-in-law and then Hazel's brother, John. They did it together."

"Oh, god," Selina huffed. "If you got Mikael going against you, prepare for a long fight because that man just can't let go when he feels he's been slighted. Believe me, I know." She paused. "Is there anything we can do to make it so the club can't be destroyed? Cause it would be ridiculous to be in a perpetual cycle of them blowing it up and us rebuilding." She took Dorian's hand and kissed it. "That would be a big waste of time."

"It would," Dorian agreed. "Which is why I'm going to do exactly what you say and see if we can put some sort of spell on it to make it invisible to people we don't want there, or indestructible or something. Cause I couldn't stand it if this happened again and more lives were taken." He grabbed her hand. "How full is the hospital?"

"A lot fuller than we'd like," Selina sighed. "A couple died today. Beautiful woman. Young, strawberry blonde. The man was blonde too. Blue eyes. They weren't burned. Just really hurt."

"Did you happen to see what species they were?" Dorian questioned as he grabbed her hand, looking panicked. "What sort of demon, I mean."

"Gray," Selina replied as Dorian shut his eyes and breathed in quickly.

"Why?" Selina asked. "What's the matter?"

"I think…" Dorian sighed and took her in his arms, squeezing her tight. "I think that that couple are old friends of mine, Jack and Ruby Shelley. Our eldest boys were friends. And I believe they also have a little daughter, too. With them gone, I think I should do something for her. She's all alone now because from what I've heard, her brother is not in a fit state to raise a child."

"Wait, they have a _little_ daughter and a son who's old enough to be their daughter's father?" Selina asked. "How in the world does that work?"

"How did it work for you?" Dorian asked. "You have the same sort of age difference in your children, don't you?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "You have a point. So our goals now are to rebuild the club, find a way to protect it, and help your friends' daughter? Sounds doable. And I know where all the plans to the building are. In addition, Jeannette and I also saved the design plans and things so I just have to go out and get stuff again." She smiled.

"You really _are_ fantastic," Dorian smiled. "Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Yes, but not often enough," Selina remarked and kissed him before taking her keys out of her purse so she could drive to the office and have Jeanette dig up the decorating plans so she could start the redecorating process. It was the best way she could think of to help now.

* * *

Almost immediately, Amy began making lists of things to put in the house now that she and Elijah were together as well as coming up with some early wedding ideas. She also wanted to make sure the house was full of healthy food, a pleasant contrast to Selina, who'd liked to gorge on sweets and other junk food just because she knew that healthy food was no better.

Since Amy was making all the plans, he offered to get the groceries, and as he drove home with them in the trunk, he was overcome by the urge to drive by the club and look at the wreckage. As he parked nearby, he noticed a little girl sitting in the remains of the building, wearing no shoes and a dirty dress. Her tear-stained face was covered by a curtain of strawberry blonde hair.

"Hello," Elijah told her once he noticed she was sobbing. Then she looked up at him and he gasped. Her eyes were red and her face was gray. She was a demon. But she was _so small_.

"Will you hurt me?" She asked, her eyes wide as she stepped back from the hand that he held out to her.

"No, will you hurt _me_?" Elijah replied. "Are you lost? What are you doing here all by yourself?"

"No, I'm not lost," she shook her head. "I'm waiting for my mommy and daddy," she explained, continuing to gnaw on the apple she held, which was nothing more than a core. "They said they were here."

"I'll help you find them," Elijah picked her up. "What's your name?"

"Lily," she said. "Lily Shelley. What's _your_ name?"

"I'm Elijah," he told her. "And like I said, I want to help you find your mother and father but I don't think that will happen if you stay here."

"Why not?" Lily asked. "Mommy always says that if we get separated, I should wait for her at the last place I saw her, or know where she was, and this is it. Where else would she be?"

"I don't know, but I don't think she's here," Elijah replied. "How did you get here?"

"Powers," Lily replied simply.

Elijah nodded. "It figures. Well, would you like to come home with me and I can get you some good food and a bath? Maybe some new clothes too?"

"But what if Mommy comes and I'm not here?" Lily questioned. "What if she thinks I'm lost?"

"How about I bring you back after you're cleaned up and fed?" Elijah promised. "And if your mommy is here, you can go with her."

Lily was still hesitant, but finally, she put a grubby hand in his, threw the apple core away, let him take her to his car and drive her home to Amy.

* * *

When they arrived, Amy met Elijah at the door, looking curious. "What kept you? Did you have trouble finding things on the grocery list? If you did, that's okay. I have no problem going by myself."

"No, I found everything," Elijah assured her and gave her the full grocery bag. "It's just that after I was done, I paid a visit to what was left of the club and it was a good thing I did because look who I found."

"Hi," Lily whispered as she peered around Elijah. "Who are you?"

"Oh, my god," Amy put a hand over her mouth. "Elijah, it's a little girl!"

"She's lost her parents and I told her that we could help her find them, but first I think she needs to be fed and cleaned up," Elijah said. "Do you agree?"

"Of course," Amy nodded and then leaned down so that she and Lily were eye to eye. "I'm Amy," she said. "Would you like to come with me and have a bath and some food?"

Lily's stomach growled and she nodded. "Yes, please."

So Amy gave her a bath and a new dress and while she ate a grilled cheese and some soup, Amy and Elijah talked in hushed voices in their bedroom.

"Do you really think you'll be able to find her parents?" Amy asked.

"I mean, it's possible," Elijah said. "I know she's a gray demon and not everyone who was in the club died, but if they're not back to her by now and she's still looking, I have to think that maybe they were among the injured. I'd _love_ to be able to have a definitive answer, but I don't know how to do that."

"Oh, yes, you do!" Amy replied and pulled out her phone. "Cause it would involve calling Selina, and you don't want to do that."

"I would in this case," Elijah assured her. "This is important!"

"You go be with Lily, and _I'll_ call Selina and see if she knows anything about Lily's parents," Amy ordered and gave Elijah a nudge.

When he was gone, she did just that.

"Hi!" Selina greeted her warmly. "What's going on? What can I do for you?"

"Something that's not exactly pleasant," Amy told her. "Do you have the names of everyone who was at the club the night it blew up? Cause Elijah went to see the wreckage and he found a little girl named Lily waiting there for her mother. She has strawberry blonde hair, and is a gray demon. I know it's not a lot of detail, but…is it enough to go on so Elijah and I can tell this poor little girl whether or not her parents are alive or dead? And if they're dead, we can find a way to get her a good place to live?"

"Wait, Elijah brought home a demon girl? And he's being _nice_ to her?" Selina cried, unable to hide her shock.

"I know," Amy agreed. "I was as surprised as you, but neither of them seems to be worried about the other, so there you go. Stranger things have happened."

"Right, so…check to see if someone with strawberry blonde hair has…oh, no." Selina's voice trailed off.

"What?" Amy asked. "Is it bad news?"

"A woman with strawberry blonde hair and her husband died at the hospital from injuries not too long ago," Selina said. "Dorian was so sad about it. Apparently, they were close friends of his. Oh! And he said that they may have a little daughter."

"Oh, poor Lily!" Amy tried not to cry. "All right, thank you."

"You're welcome," Selina told her. "And if…if there's anything else I can do, please let me know."

"I will," Amy assured her. "Thank you." She ended the call and sighed, heading back to Elijah and Lily with a heavy heart.

"What did Selina say?" Elijah asked rising to his feet.

"I'll tell you if you come with me," Amy replied.

Elijah followed her and when they were out of Lily's hearing, he said, "From the look on your face, it's not good news, is it?"

"No," Amy shook her head. "Selina's pretty positive that Lily's parents died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident. So what should we do? We can't just keep her. Do you think it would be best to tell Dorian what happened and let him deal with it? Not that I want her to go, but we have to do the right thing."

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "We do."

They got back to Lily, who was sitting in front of an empty bowl and plate. "That was good," she smiled. "May I have more, please?"

"Yes," Amy nodded. "But first, we have to ask you a question: How long have you been waiting at the club for your mommy and daddy? Since the night they left?"

"Yes," Lily nodded. "I don't know why they don't come."

Elijah hugged her and said, "Darling, the reason why you haven't seen them is because there was an accident at the club the night they were there and they were hurt. They got taken to the hospital and died from their injuries. They don't come back because they can't."

Lily began to tear up. "No more Mommy and Daddy?"

"I'm afraid not, sweetheart," Elijah said and hugged her, wishing there was a way to soften the blow.

"Can I stay with you then?" Lily asked after her crying had stopped. "Please?"

"I don't know, maybe," Elijah told her. "We should check with Dorian first though, to see if it's okay."

"Why do you have to do that?" Lily questioned. "Don't you want me? Why do you want to send me away?"

"We don't, sweetheart," Amy assured her as Lily buried her head in Elijah's shoulder, her tears beginning again. "We just…we've never been in a situation like this before and we want to make sure we're doing everything right. We will do everything we can to make sure you stay here with us."

Lily looked up at her. "You will?" Her face was that of a demon again, gray skin, red eyes, and little horns that he hadn't noticed before, but she was so distraught that it was hard for Amy and Elijah to be frightened. They pitied her instead.

"Yes," Amy nodded and wiped the tears off Lily's cheeks. "We will."

Lily turned to face Elijah. "We will," he assured her. "I promise."

* * *

Since Eric and Sophia were on much better terms now, he decided to go and visit her and see how she was. See how badly the accident had affected her. Cause even though she _seemed_ fine, things could always happen afterward. He got her some flowers and made his way to Lilith's. He stood on her front step with flowers in hand and when Lilith answered the door, he asked to see Sophia without any delay or attempt at small talk.

"Is it necessary for you to do it now?" She asked. "Sophia's not feeling well."

"Oh, well then it's even _more_ important that I see her!" Eric cried and ran past Lilith before she could protest further. Remembering which room was Sophia's, he paused outside it and let himself in. The bed was empty, and there was a terrible sound coming from the bathroom, which was a few steps from the bed. He put the flowers on the mattress and then went knock on the bathroom door. "Are you okay? What's wrong with you? What can I do?"

"Nothing else," Sophia replied. "You've done enough already. I'm pregnant!"

"You _are_?" Eric asked, grinning and doing a dance.

"Yes," Sophia replied. "What do you have to say about that?"

"I have to say that I only brought you one bouquet of flowers," Eric told her. "Now I need to go out and get you more!"

"Thanks for the flowers, but I don't need more," Sophia replied, yanking open the bathroom door. "I feel like I'm going to die." She paused. "But thank goodness I'm the same species as my baby because non-demons who have demon babies have to go through the worst sort of hell."

"Here, let me help you back to bed," Eric offered, picking her up, carrying her to bed, and tucking her in.

"Thank you," Sophia replied.

"I told you I would be nice to you when you were pregnant," Eric smiled. "So did you allow it to happen on purpose cause it was the only way to end our stalemate, or…?"

"No," Sophia shook her head. "It just happened, despite every wish I made to wait."

"Does that mean you don't want the baby?" Eric asked.

"Oh, I want it," Sophia sighed. "I just wish we could have waited a little, you know? And I _still_ don't want to just dump it on a nanny when it's born."

"We don't have to talk about this now," Eric said, not wanting to get in a fight with her when she already seemed so sick and miserable. "Here are your flowers, I'm glad to see that there were no ill effects from what happened at the club, and I should probably get out of here before Lilith thinks I'm pestering you too much and kicks me out on my ass." He paused. "She knows you're pregnant, right? She doesn't just think you're sick?"

"Of course she knows I'm pregnant!" Sophia replied. "Telling my parents, though…that will be another story." She shuddered at the thought and tried to sleep as Eric left the room.

"I hope you didn't bother her too much," Lilith chided as he made his way toward the door. "She's really not in the condition to fight with anyone."

"I didn't fight with her," Eric promised. "I mean, there _could_ have been a fight, but I didn't take the bait. I just gave her the flowers, listened to her news, wished her well, and went on my way."

"Good," Lilith nodded, even though she was still suspicious. "Don't forget to close the door on your way out."

* * *

"What kept you?" AnnaLynne asked as Klaus came into the bedroom and took off his pants and underwear before joining her in bed again. "Who interrupted us?"

"Selina, of all people," he said, putting his arm around her and kissing her neck as he pushed into her from behind. "It was for a good reason, though. Your father was investigating the cause of the explosion at the club and he found out who did it."

"Good," she moaned as he nibbled on her neck. "Tell me so I can beat the shit out of them. I was the one who was hurt. I'm not letting Daddy have all the satisfaction."

"Tell me," Klaus pulled out of her and turned her to face him. "Are you the vengeful sort?"

"Definitely," AnnaLynne smiled and ran her finger over his bottom lip. "Don't tell me that bothers you."

"Oh, of course not," Klaus smiled and kissed her. "It intrigues me…very much."

She kissed back as she felt his hands slip between her legs and rub her. "I wanna spoon again," she requested. "Can we do that?"

"All right," Klaus agreed. "But I can't look into your eyes that way, you know. And you have such beautiful eyes."

They moved back into spooning position and again, he buried himself inside her from behind while reaching around and also entering her again and again with his finger.

After she climaxed, Klaus barely had time to blink before she had moved, and was now looming over him, licking her lips and bending down to suck on him gently.

"Oh, damn," He muttered as he closed his eyes. "Oh, fuck!" He tried to control his breathing and everything else, but it didn't work and soon a growl escaped his throat.

"What was that?" AnnaLynne questioned, looking him in the eye, her hair brushing his bare chest as she leaned down to kiss him. "Did I accidentally let the beast out?"

"You could say that," Klaus nodded, his eyes yellow and fangs bared as he pounced on her, knocked her back on the mattress, and began pushing into her over and over again.

Anyone else would have been frightened, but AnnaLynne just laughed. "How exciting," she remarked and reached up to feel the sharpness of his fangs. "I like a man with a little animal in him."

"Good," Klaus said in a guttural voice. "Cause with me, what you see is what you get."


	61. More Than Just A Home

It didn't take long for Selina to work on getting paint and furniture for the club. It was while she and Jeanette were coming out of the paint store that Mikael drove up, parked near the curb, and got out of his car.

"Don't look at him," Selina told Jeannette as they backed away. "That's my former father-in-law. Very anti-demon and a giant asshole!"

Jeannette followed Selina's advice and said nothing to Mikael as he headed into the store.

"Hey," he cried, feeling very offended that he had to be the one to start trouble. "Hey, do you mind? This is not a store for demons. Just what makes you think you can park here?"

"We parked here because we needed to get paint to help fix up the club that _you_ blew up," Selina told him. "That's all." She tried to keep quiet after that, but she couldn't help it. "If you had just kept your giant nose in your own business, and been a pain in the ass to vampires cause that's a big enough job, we wouldn't have had to have this unpleasant encounter!"

"I thought you said we weren't going to bait him!" Jeannette whispered, wide-eyed, hoping Jim, the driver, would hurry with getting the paint out to the car so they could leave.

"I know I did," Selina nodded as she swung a punch at Mikael and missed. "But old habits die hard."

They began to fight, and surprisingly, Selina held her ground for a lot longer than either she or Mikael expected. But then he finally overpowered her and she found herself face down on the pavement with his knee in her back.

Jeanette didn't have to be asked to run and get Jim, and they got back just in time to see Mikael gleefully holding a stake over her back. "I have been waiting for this day for so long," he said, and there were actually tears in his eyes. "And now…now, it's finally come-"

But he wasn't able to make his dream come true as he was pulled off by the driver and pummeled mercilessly along with Jeannette whacking him where she could with her hot pink purse.

"It's always the mistake you types make," Jim told him. "You don't just get down to business. You have to brag first."

With Mikael restrained, Jeannette helped Selina to her feet and then led her back to the car where she checked her for bruises and other injuries. "Now I see why you told me not to mess with him," she remarked. "He's kind of a tough customer, isn't he? What's he got against you, anyway?"

"Well," Selina cleared her throat. "He feels I turned his son against him and made him look like an idiot and neither of those things are things he forgives easily. He's a very proud man."

"Yeah, I can see that," Jeanette nodded and made a face.

It took a little while for Jim to return, but when he did, he sat in the driver's seat and told his passengers, "He's gone now, so if you forgot something and need to go back in, there won't be any more trouble. And promise me you won't start any more fights."

"Oh, I won't," Selina assured him. "Thanks for your help, Jim. But I need just one thing from you."

"Sure, Miss," Jim nodded and removed his hat. "Anything."

"Don't tell Mr. Gray about this, please," Selina requested. "It'll just upset him, and since I got out of it fine, I don't think there's any need to worry him about it, do you?"

"He won't hear anything from me," Jim assured her. "But I wouldn't count on him not figuring things out on his own. He's very perceptive."

"All right," Selina nodded before she and Jeannette settled in the car with all the paint settled nearby and Jim drove them home.

* * *

It turned out that Jim's warning to Selina was a good one. When she returned home, Dorian asked her how things had gone.

"Oh, fine," she told him, shrugging. "Nothing interesting happened."

"Are you sure?" Dorian asked, taking her face in his hands so that she was looking him in the eye. "If something happened, I want you to tell me. I sent Jim with you because anything bad could happen to you at any time. And if something does, I want to know. Did you run into Mikael? Or John? Did they hurt you?"

Selina tried not to be irritated because she answered this same question every time she went out anywhere. But since she knew he was asking it for a good reason, she tried not to complain. "We ran into Mikael at the paint store," she confessed. She had to tell him. There was no use hiding it. "And…and if Jim hadn't been with us, he would have killed me. Mikael knew he had the advantage and he took it. But Jim saved me and I came out of it all right."

"Thank you for being honest," Dorian told her. His voice was pleasant, but his eyes were cold and his back was stiff.

"What are you going to do now that I've told you about it?" Selina questioned. "Are you going to kill him?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do," Dorian told her. "But I assure you that it will make him hurt."

* * *

Business at the gym was slow, so Patrick decided to alleviate his boredom by getting a joint from the drug room, sitting at the desk and smoking it as he stared at a wall and giggled as he saw all the colors and shapes that appeared there. Then he started violently as someone at the desk hit it repeatedly and after blinking several times, he threw the joint away and then grabbed a bottle of water, gulping it down and trying to act normal, especially when he realized that the person on the other side of the desk was Eric, who was grinning as he held out an open box of cigars.

"I know it probably bothers you to stop smoking that joint," he remarked. "But Sophia is pregnant, so can I offer you a cigar instead?"

"Yeah, sure," Patrick replied, the room still swaying a bit as Eric lit it for him. "Thanks."

"No problem," Eric smiled. "Just be careful, will you?"

"Sure," Patrick replied. "I don't do this on a busy day, I promise."

"Well, it's not so much that," Eric replied. "But didn't you promise that girlfriend of yours that you weren't going to do drugs anymore?"

"One joint every once in a while is hardly a problem," Patrick replied. "I could be doing much worse."

"All right," Eric sighed. "Just be careful. I don't want to put you in rehab too." He then strode off to hand out cigars and tell the news of his impending fatherhood to everyone else in the gym as Patrick's mind cleared and he quickly destroyed the joint and called Addie cause he knew he'd slipped and wanted to be reminded of why it was so important for him to be clean in the first place.

* * *

"Don't be nervous," Amy told Elijah as they stood on Selina and Dorian's front step on the day of the interview that would be the deciding factor in whether or not they got to keep Lily for good. "I'm sure that once Dorian finds out how attached Lily is to both of us, he won't hesitate to let us keep her."

"Of course," Elijah nodded, trying to stay calm for Lily's sake. He asked her a bunch of questions until they reached Dorian and Selina's, and then he helped her out of the car and held her hand as the two of them and Amy went to knock on the door.

"Amy, why are we here?" Lily asked and reached for Amy's hand so she was holding both her parents' hands at the same time.

"We just want someone who's in charge in the demon world to know that we're keeping you," Amy replied.

"Ah," Lily nodded. "Okay." When Dorian opened the door, she gave him a big smile, showed him her, Amy, and Elijah's joined hands, and said, "They're my mommy and daddy now, okay? Goodbye!" She began pulling on her parents, thinking that she'd said all that needed to be said.

"Where are you going?" Dorian asked, "Sweetheart, I need you and your parents to come in here for a minute, please. We're just gonna have a little talk, that's all."

"What kind of a talk?" Lily asked, staring him down. "Are you gonna take me away from them?"

"Not if we don't see a reason to," Dorian replied. "You seem happy and well-cared for in their house."

"Okay," Lily replied and went to be entertained by Jeannette while Amy and Elijah talked with Dorian and Selina.

"Why does _she_ have to be here?" Elijah asked, pointing to her. "What's the point?"

"She's here because she has a better grasp of your character than I do," Dorian replied. "And with her here, you have a better chance of getting what you came for. Or would you rather I send her away and you be denied Lily outright?"

"You wouldn't just do that," Elijah told him.

"Watch me," Dorian hissed.

"All right, everyone, let's calm down," Amy interrupted before the spat could go any further. "This is about _Lily_ , not whatever is going on between the two of you."

"Right," Elijah nodded and backed down, much to both Amy and Selina's surprise. "Sorry."

"Me too," Dorian added. Then he cleared his throat. "Well, from what I've seen, the time Lily has had at your house hasn't harmed her in any way. She seems very well-cared for, happy, and content. That's good."

"And just so you know, if you take her from us and put her with someone else, she'll probably be very upset," Elijah replied. "I mean, we were aware from the beginning that we're not demons so we might not be the best match, but she seems not to care."

"True as that might be, a five-year-old's opinion can't be the only deciding factor in the choice to place her with you," Dorian reminded him. "But from the looks of things, I don't see any harm in letting you go onto the next stage."

"What's the next stage?" Amy asked.

"You can take her, but you'll need to have someone look in on you periodically," Dorian replied.

"Oh, come on!" Selina told him. "Do they _really_ need that? She's already lived with them without being spied on like that and you said she seemed fine, I heard you. If everything is fine, why do they have to go through all that?"

"So you have no doubt as to their suitability as parental candidates for Lily, even though neither one of them are demons and they could surround her with people who might be motivated to intentionally harm her, even if that's not something they'd do themselves?" Dorian asked.

"I admit that Elijah especially _does_ have relatives that have itchy trigger fingers when it comes to situations like this," Selina admitted. "But they both know this too, and I know they'll do anything they can to protect Lily from those particular relatives." She looked at Elijah and Amy across the table. "Won't you?"

"Oh, yes," both Elijah and Amy said without hesitation. "Of course we will."

After a few more questions, Dorian was finally convinced that Lily was in good hands, and as he and Elijah worked on the adoption papers, Selina gestured at Amy.

"What's going on?" Amy asked, for her friend had a look of concern on her face. "You're not backing out now, are you? Not when you were so much help in this whole thing."

"No, of course not," Selina told her. "But I need you to do me a big and very important favor."

"Sure," Amy nodded. "What is it?"

"You'll probably think I'm stupid for requesting this cause in a way, it goes without saying, but…please watch out for Lily," Selina requested. "Elijah seems so eager to take her now because she's young and vulnerable, and cute, and makes him feel needed, but some day, I just know she's gonna change. She's gonna want to be more independent, more in touch with her demon heritage. She'll pull away and perhaps start being darker than Elijah wants her to be, and that's when he's gonna double down, fight her, and it'll all go to hell."

"You really think it'll be _that_ bad?" Amy asked. "Now _I'm_ the one who's having second thoughts."

"No, you don't have to have second thoughts," Selina told her. "Part of why he doubled down was because of me, I just know it. He thought of me as a bad influence so he had to stand extra firm, but you…you're much better at all that moral stuff than I am, which is why I don't think you need to worry, but I just thought I'd put it out there. If he wants to send her to some boarding school or kick her out of the house, or fights with her so much that she wants to take any job she can that will get her the hell away from him and the only time you ever will hear from her is by phone…that's when you gotta tell him that's not gonna happen. He drove away three of our children cause they didn't act how he wanted them to…I don't want the same thing to happen to Lily. She's already been through enough."

"I agree," Amy nodded and took Selina's hand. "And I promise I won't let Elijah make her be anything more than what she is. It's not gonna happen."

"Thank you," Selina hugged her. "That…that makes me feel so much better. It really does."

"Everything all right?" Elijah asked when they came back.

"Yep," Amy nodded. "We were just having a little last minute discussion is all. Everything all settled?"

"It is," Dorian nodded. "Now all that's left is to tell Lily." He called for Jeannette and she and Lily came running in, with Lily attaching herself to Elijah like glue.

"Do we get to go home now?" She asked with a big grin. She had no doubt who her parents were, and it hadn't even occurred to her that she would be denied them.

"Yes," Elijah hugged her. "We get to go home now. You're ours, Lily."

"Thank you," Lily told Dorian as she, Elijah, and Amy had another group hug. "Thank you for my new mommy and daddy."

"You're welcome, Lily," Dorian told her. "I know they're gonna take good care of you."

"Yeah," Lily smiled and looked at both her new parents. "That's why I love them."

* * *

"I think I should tell my parents that I'm pregnant," Sophia told Caleb. "How mad do you think Mom will be when I tell her?"

"Honestly, I don't think your mother will be the angry one," Caleb replied. "I think it'll be your dad you need to be worried about."

"Are you saying that I _shouldn't_ tell them?" Sophia wanted to know. "I don't want to alarm anyone."

"I know it might be hard to think about, but you should at least tell your mother," Caleb replied. "Your mother was freaked out enough when Eric first took you and if she doesn't see you for months because you're pregnant and afraid to face her, she'll probably come storming in here and things will be worse than they need to be, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Sophia reached out to hug him. "I guess you have a point." Then she let out a breath. "Okay, I'll tell them. But it's going to be at Dad and Helene's with everyone present. I'll be less likely to be murdered or yelled at in a room full of witnesses, right?"

"Unless they all turn on you at the same time," Caleb replied.

"You know what?" Sophia glared. "That's _really_ not helpful."

"Sorry," Caleb quickly apologized. "But if you want to just get it over with and tell everyone at once, I'll set it up for you."

"Wait," Sophia quickly recanted that decision. "I'll tell Mom first, then everyone else. That's my final answer."

"All right," Caleb nodded. "You do whatever you want. Good luck."

* * *

"It's so good to see you!" Jill said and gave Sophia a hug when her daughter strode through her and Christian's front door. "I'm so relieved. I thought we were never gonna see you again!" Then, she said something that shocked an open-mouthed Sophia. "How's the pregnancy? Not too difficult? I hope Eric was good enough to give you the potion that gets rid of all the really difficult physical effects."

" _You know I'm pregnant_?" Sophia's jaw dropped. "How the hell could that be?"

"Your mother had a dream," Christian informed his daughter. "We've known, or at least suspected, for a while."

"Oh, right," Sophia sat down. "I forgot Mom has visions and stuff." Then she looked at her parents, whose eyes were full of concern. "Are you mad?"

"No, we're not mad," Jill said. "I mean, we can't say that this is the life we'd expected you'd have, or even that we wanted for you, but based on our own relationship and how it started and stuff, if we were to get mad and go on and on about how horrible it was, we'd be a bit hypocritical, wouldn't we?"

"Yeah," Sophia nodded. "You know, I never thought of it that way."

"You've told Eric, right?" Christian pressed. "He better be happy about this and ready to take on his responsibility. I hope he's not just ditching you."

"Oh, of course not!" Sophia assured him. "Eric is over the moon. He's wanted me to get pregnant for a while now but I held off cause I wanted to enjoy the relationship a little first, but now that's over, I guess." She sighed.

"Now that you're pregnant, are you gonna move in with Eric again, or will you stay with Lilith and Uncle Caleb?" Jill pressed. "I think you know which answer I would prefer, but it's your own life. I just want to know where you are."

"Oh, I am _definitely_ not ready to move back in with Eric yet," Sophia assured her mother. "In fact, when I told him, it was probably only like, the second time I'd seen him since I moved out of his house." She paused. "We skipped a lot in our relationship when he brought me to live with him. Maybe we can use this time when I'm at Uncle Caleb and Lilith's to actually get to know each other before I move back in with him again."

"You know, I think that would be a very good idea," Christian nodded. "Do that."

"And this is the last time I'm going to ask this, I swear, but…you're okay about me being pregnant?" Sophia asked.

"Yes," Jill told her. "If you're okay with it, we are."

"Good," Sophia smiled. "Cause I think…I think I'm getting used to the idea. But I _am_ going to ask Eric about that potion that gets rid of the worst of the physical effects of pregnancy when you take it."

"You don't have to ask him," Jill told her. "I can make it for you right now."


	62. All Part Of The Plan

"Well, look at this, Todd," Malachai remarked as he came into the living room with a letter. "Seems like you have a secret admirer."

"Oh, it's not a secret," Todd replied. "I don't have a secret admirer, I have a not-so-secret harasser."

"Really?" Malachai asked. "What's she like?"

"She's got red hair, and she's completely insane," Todd sighed. "Leave it to me to attract the nutty ones."

* * *

He later headed back to Liam and Mary's and said to Faye, "You wrote this note, didn't you?"

Faye just looked at it and then went back to the puzzle she was doing at the kitchen table. "I don't know, it's a secret. That's what it says on the letter. If I wrote it, do you really think I would tell you?"

"Of course you would!" Todd replied and sat down next to her. "Cause you seem determined to make me fall in love with you and I find that very irritating!"

"Shows what you know!" Faye told him. "I have caretaking instincts, okay? I look at you and I see a giant miserable mess! You need help, Todd! I want to help you!"

"Well, I don't want help," Todd told her. "Especially not from you. Cause I know what kind of help you'll want to give me. You'll want me to go out and make friends and do stuff. Maybe even get a girlfriend or something." He shuddered a little.

"What's wrong with that?" Faye asked. Then her eyes widened. "Do you like boys instead? Cause that's not a problem, you know."

"No, I'm not gay!" Todd shook his head. "I just…I don't really like people all that much."

"Well, I'm sorry," Faye replied and put a hand on his.

"Why are you sorry?" Todd pulled his hand away and frowned at her.

"Because if you don't like people, it's cause you've not met many decent ones, right?" Faye questioned. "And that's what I'm sorry about."

"Yeah, well," Todd cleared his throat. "I managed. It's nothing you need to be concerned about."

"I know," Faye nodded. "But if you ever… _want_ me to be concerned about it, I will be."

"But why, though?" Todd asked. "You don't know me. Why would you want to help me? Cause you like racking up one charity case after the other and I'm the next one?"

"No, it's not like that at all," Faye shook her head. "Like I told you before, you don't have to accept my help if you don't want to, but I really think that by not opening yourself up to the world, you're really missing out."

"Well, thanks for the information, but I think I'm doing all right," Todd assured her.

"All right, fine, good," Faye nodded. "That's all I need to hear. I'll be on my way now."

"You don't fool me," Todd told her. "I know this won't be the last I see of you."

"You do?" Faye smiled. "Wonderful! That's very promising!" She left then and Todd didn't know what she meant: if she'd just confessed that she was going to keep stalking him, or if, in some way, she knew that in the future, he'd come to her on his own. He doubted that would be the case, but even he had to admit, there was something he liked about her not completely giving up on him. It…it was kind of a nice change.

"So…I think I'll be going now," he told her.

"Really?" Faye asked. "If you feel that way, all right. Did you drive here?"

"Yeah," Todd nodded. "Why?"

"Can I see car?" Faye asked.

"It's not shiny or fast or anything like that," Todd replied as he led her out to a beat up black truck. "See? It gets me from here to there, though. And that's really all that matters. I want to save up for a new one someday, though."

Faye looked it over. Aside from being an aesthetic mess, there didn't seem to be anything truly wrong with it. She smiled and then took off the necklace she wore and put it in his hand.

"What's this?" He asked. Then he groaned when he saw there was an old coin as the pendant on the gold chain. "Thanks, but I told you I don't need charity."

"It's not charity," Faye told him. "It's luck. Sean told me that coins are considered good luck in America, so I hope this will give you some. It's been in my family for a while now, and we're pretty lucky ourselves."

"Well…thank you," Todd told her, genuinely shocked. Then he opened the passenger side door. "You…you wanna ride home with me? You don't have to if you don't want to, but-"

"Okay!" Faye nodded and jumped into the front seat. And as they drove away, she smiled and said, "You know, some people say it's also good luck to be with a redhead. I thought you'd want to know that."

"I hope so," Todd told her as he started the car and gave her a small smile in return. "But we'll see."

* * *

Because their initial meeting with Eleanor had gone so smoothly, Junior and Sarah thought the transition into parenthood would be easy. But it wasn't. Sometimes, Ellie would be good-natured and sweet, and other times, she would just fuss and fuss, and fuss.

"Maybe it's cause I'm bad at this," Sarah proposed to Matthew who held a calm Eleanor in his lap as the two of them watched a western. "How is it that she's so calm with you when she was screaming her head off at me not two minutes ago? Do you think John and Freya gave her back too soon?"

"No," Matthew shook her head. "I think you're just a bit overeager is all. It's understandable that you want to get every minute in that you can with her, but sometimes you just have to sit in the quiet. Like she and Sean do."

"Wow, what world am I living in where you're holding up Sean's behavior as an example of the right way to do things?" Sarah asked as she put a hand to her forehead and fell back on the sofa. "Geez, I'm a terrible mother."

"You aren't the first woman I've seen think like this," Matthew told her. "Amelia felt that way too, when Selina was born."

Sarah turned and stared at him. "She did? Well, that makes me feel a lot better. How long did she and Selina hate each other before they finally got along?"

"True," Matthew nodded. "But just because that was the case with them, it doesn't mean it'll be that way with and Sarah too." He patted the carpet beside him. "Come and sit."

"This isn't gonna work," Sarah huffed. But she humored her father and sat on the floor with her back against the sofa anyway. Then Matthew picked up Ellie and put her in Sarah's lap. Sarah immediately tensed, waiting for the steam engine wail to start, but when it didn't, she began taking deep breaths and kissed Ellie's hair. The little girl stared at the TV for a few minutes, then gently turned and laid her head on Sarah's stomach. She didn't fall asleep, though. She just stayed right where she was, not moving while Sarah and Matthew watched the Western.

"See?" Matthew whispered, a smile on his lips. "I told you it would work."

"I know, I should have trusted you," Sarah replied. "It's not like this is your first time around the block."

"No," Matthew shook his head and moved some of Sarah's hair off her face. "No, it isn't."

* * *

"Can I make a proposal?" Eric asked Sophia the next time he saw her.

"What kind of a proposal?" Sophia asked. "Is there a ring involved? Cause don't worry, that can wait. Right?"

"Oh, of course!" Eric nodded. "That's not what I meant at all, cause we're already married, remember? I was just thinking that it might be easier to get through the pregnancy if you had more help. I was thinking that maybe the two of us could go live with my dad until the baby comes. You could learn more about demon pregnancy, and get used to the idea of having a staff to help you with things. Now, this is just a suggestion. We don't have to do it if you don't want to, but…"

Sophia then pulled herself up and nodded. "You say your dad knows about the pregnancy stuff? I could use some of that knowledge."

"How do you feel right now?" Eric asked. "What can I do to help you?"

This made Sophia pause to think. She didn't really need anything, but since he was asking, why not take advantage of this marvelous opportunity? But then, to her chagrin, she couldn't think of anything. "I'm good, thanks," she said at last. "But thanks for asking."

"You're welcome," Eric nodded. "Can I ask why you thought I was proposing when we're already married? Don't tell me you forgot about that."

"Oh, of course not," Sophia assured him, her eyes flashing. "Who could forget being tied up and dragged down the aisle before they say 'I do'? I was thinking that maybe you were going to do a do-over and have it be more romantic this time, but I guess not." She shrugged. "Can I…can I meet your dad first before we move in with him? Would that be too much trouble?"

"No, of course not," Eric replied. "Are you feeling well enough to go now?" He paused. "And if you are, do you think Lilith will let you leave with me?"

"What does it matter if she doesn't?" Sophia questioned. "I need to get out of here and get some air!"

So Eric smuggled Sophia out to his car after she left a note and they took a deep breath when they were on the road. "I honestly thought we were gonna get caught," Eric confessed.

"Yeah," Sophia scoffed. "It's a good thing we weren't."

* * *

When they reached Dorian and Selina's apartment, it was Dorian who greeted them and let them in.

"I'm surprised you're in such a good mood, what with happened at the club and all, Dad," Eric remarked. "Have you started planning the rebuild already?"

"Of course," Dorian nodded. "You didn't think I was going to dawdle with that, did you?" He smiled. "Hello, Sophia. Lovely to see you again."

"Yes," Sophia smiled back and gave Dorian her hand. "Nice to see you too. I hope we're not in the way of something just barging in here like this."

"Oh, you're not," Dorian assured her. "I like company. My son so _rarely_ comes to visit me, so it's a nice change. Now, not to sound pushy, but did you _really_ just come to visit, or is there a reason?"

"Eric thought you might want to know that I'm pregnant," Sophia replied. "You're not gonna go crazy with excitement like he is, right?"

"Of course not," Dorian smiled, although his bright eyes were at odds with his nonchalant tone. "I mean, I'm happy for you, of course. But how could I be more pleased than the child's parents?" He then went into the his office with a grin on his face and doing a little dance because the first member of his new powerful hybrid species was on its way just as his office chair turned around and Selina was sitting in it. "What's so great?" She smiled. "Wanna share? I love good news!"

"Oh, nothing really," Dorian shrugged. "I just like that Eric is visiting with Sophia. Isn't that nice?"

"Yeah, it is," Selina grinned. "Maybe I should go out and say 'Hello'." She got out of the chair and made her way out of the office with Dorian following.

"She's pregnant, you know," he told her. "Maybe we could let her stay here through the whole thing so you could have an idea of what a demon pregnancy is like? Then you won't be concerned when it's your turn. I know you were worried about that."

"I'd like that," Selina nodded. "That is, if Eric and Sophia don't mind, of course."

"I don't think they will," Dorian assured her, and then asked the pair just that.

"Actually, that's what we came here to ask _you_ ," Eric told his father. "So this is a nice coincidence. Sophia thought she might need some help with everything and I thought you'd be just the person to provide it."

"Yes, of course I will," Dorian nodded. "Would you like me to show you to your room?"

"Are you going to let us share one?" Eric asked. "Would that bother you?"

"No," Dorian shook his head. "In fact, there's a nice room right near us. And don't worry, we won't disturb you. There's a spell on the door that stops the noise from traveling."

Eric and Sophia looked at one another and blushed before following Dorian and Selina to their new bedroom while Sophia reminded herself that she had to tell her parents and Caleb and Lilith where she'd gone.


	63. Taken In Broad Daylight

"I wanted to thank you for your gift the other day," Todd said when Faye answered a phone call and was surprised to hear him on the other end of the line. "It's…it's very nice."

"Thank you," Faye replied. "I'm glad you like it."

He paused. "This might seem a bit out there, but…would you like to come with me and visit my sister?"

"Really?" Faye asked, so surprised that she dropped the phone with a clatter.

"What was that?" Todd asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, thank you," Faye replied. "I just…I'm a little surprised you want me to meet your family. And by 'a little surprised', I mean _really_ surprised. But glad too."

"Wonderful," Todd told her. "Jill will be so interested to meet you."

"Interested?" Faye repeated, raising an eyebrow. "She's not one of those weird fairy enthusiasts who kidnap us and use us for their own personal gain, is she?"

"No," Todd shook his head. "That happens? What the fuck?"

"Yeah," Faye sighed. "I mean, it's never happened to me personally, but…I've heard horrible stories."

"That won't happen with Jill," Todd promised. "I'll call her and see when we can come, and then I'll let you know what she says, all right?"

"Sure," Faye told him. "Sounds good to me." She paused. "And Todd? Before you hang up, I want to thank you for letting me do something as personal as meeting your family. It really shows a lot of growth in a short time."

"Don't overdo it now," Todd warned. "I might just freeze up again."

"All right," Faye said. "Sorry."

* * *

"Thank you so much for coming!" Jill told Faye as Todd brought her into the house. "When Todd told me he wanted me to meet the woman who's spent a lot of time with him, I was insanely curious."

"You were?" Todd raised an eyebrow. "You mean, you didn't have any visions about some crazy woman following me around all the time?"

Jill scoffed. "You act like I'm just bombarded with visions about anything and everything all the time. It doesn't work that way. So no. Apparently, the universe or whatever decides what I see didn't think your love life was at the top of the list." Then she smiled at Faye. "Not that I don't think it's great to meet you or that I don't think this is important. I do."

"Ah, so you're a psychic," Faye smiled. "Todd never mentioned that."

"Yep," Jill smiled. "I'm a psychic and you're a fairy. How's that working out for you?"

"How do _you_ know she's a fairy?" Todd asked Jill in surprise.

"What kind of a silly question is that?" Jill wanted to know. "Think a minute and I believe you'll be able to answer it yourself."

"You mean your psychic powers can tell you that Faye is a fairy and not just about stuff that will happen in the future?" Todd questioned. "Well, that's fun."

"It is," Jill nodded and then looked at Faye. "Are you falling in love with him?"

"Oh, um…no." Faye shook her head, looking a little alarmed by Jill's sudden question. "I'm not in love with him at all. I'm just trying to help him. You know, going from person to person, making people's lives a little better, however that needs to be done. Doesn't leave a lot of time for love, honestly."

Faye shrugged. "It's okay. Work's always been very fulfilling to me. I don't know if I'd ever have time for love _and_ a relationship." She then stood up. "Can I use your bathroom? Where is it?"

When she'd left, Todd frowned at Jill. "What was that crap about her falling in love with me? You know I don't want that!"

"Oh, don't worry about it," Jill assured him. "It's not gonna happen. If fairies fall in love they have to give up their jobs and it doesn't seem like she's that sort of person. I really think you're safe."

"Good," Todd nodded. "I hope so." Then an idea came to his mind: She was determined to change him, even though it wasn't necessary and probably at a pace that would make him insane. He had to stop that if he didn't want to be her puppet. And if the way to do that was to make her fall in love, well…it was a chance he was willing to take.

* * *

The next day, he was at the grocery store when, just by chance, he ran into her in the frozen food section, standing in front of the ice cream case, pondering what flavor to get. Trying not to betray his presence, he parked his cart some distance away, then tiptoed up behind her and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her close against him.

"Don't worry," he whispered. "I'm just here for a carton of chocolate brownie and another of strawberry swirl." He kissed her neck and nibbled on her ear. "Since you seem to be taking your sweet time to choose, you don't mind if I just move you out of the way for a little bit so I can get what I came for and then be on my way, do you?"

"What?" Faye asked, still trying to register that Todd, Oscar the Grouch himself, was holding her against him, whispering in her ear, and nibbling on her earlobe, which made her both shocked and unsteady because it sort of felt good. "What did you say?"

But Todd didn't answer her. Instead, he deftly picked her up, his arm muscles bulging under his shirt (she tried not to notice, but she couldn't help it), and moved her away from the case, opening it and bending down to get his ice cream. Then he put it in his cart and gave her a wink. "Have a nice day," he said as he grabbed her and kissed her soundly, then strode off with another word as Faye tried to get her breath.

"What the hell was that?" She whispered, reaching up to touch her bottom lip. She had no idea, but it was probably just to get a rise out of her, that was all. She knew it was stupid, but she didn't want him to succeed. He'd thrown down the gauntlet. The game (if that's what it was) was on.

* * *

In the days after the attack on Selina, Jim became more and more insistent on driving her everywhere. "Mr. Gray's request, you know," he explained. "He just wants to make sure you're safe."

"Oh, of course," Selina nodded. "I completely understand. I'm not gonna scold you for doing your job. And besides, it's probably a good thing anyway. I haven't been feeling well lately. I've been really dizzy and tired. Maybe it's good I'm not driving myself."

But she soon realized that there was another reason Jim was so enthusiastic about driving her that had nothing to do with Dorian. "Can I ask you something, Miss?" He questioned. "I really don't want to overstep my bounds."

"Of course," Selina nodded. "You can ask me anything, Jim. You know that."

"Good," Jim cleared his throat. "It's about Jeannette. How is she doing? When you're at work, does she ever…talk about me?"

"In what way?" Selina questioned. "Do you mean does she ever mention that you're attractive? Is that what you mean?"

"Maybe," Jim blushed. "It depends on what your answer is."

"I'm surprised you don't know," Selina replied. "I would think you'd be able to hear us talk when you drive us."

"Well, I try not to listen," Jim replied. "It's not polite."

"One time she _did_ ask if I thought you'd have anything against her sitting up front with you," Selina replied. "And did you notice that she always tries to sit as close to your seat as possible? That might mean something. I'm not gonna presume to speak for Jeannette, but…just something for you to think about."

* * *

"I know I'm nowhere _near_ as special as Selina is, but…would you mind driving me to work?" Jeannette requested one night after getting Jim on the phone. "I don't want to get attacked by vampires in the street. I mean, first it happened to Dorian's daughter in the club, and now Selina, and I just…I know it's stupid, but…"

"No, it's not," Jim told her. "I would love to take you. It wouldn't be any trouble at all."

Jeannette gave a giggle. "Well, aren't you sweet?" She said.

"I don't know about that," Jim replied. "But even if you hadn't asked me, I would have offered. Not that I don't think you're capable of taking care of yourself, but it never hurts to have someone keep an eye on you, does it? I can drop you off on the way to the gym if you don't mind seeing me out of uniform. And don't tell Mr. Gray."

"Oh, I won't!" Jeannette smiled, the thought of seeing him not only out of uniform but in clothes one would wear to a gym giving her shivers. Tomorrow, for once, she wouldn't be reluctant to get out of bed in the morning.

* * *

The next morning, Jeannette was up, showered, dressed, and waiting for Jim much earlier than she ever thought was possible for her. So early, in fact, that when he arrived at her house and got out of the car with a rose in hand and gave it to her, he apologized for being late and keeping her waiting so long.

"Oh, no, you're on time," she told him. "I was early, I promise. I was just really excited about going with you today." She looked him over and said, "Oh, my god, you weren't kidding about going to the gym, were you?" Under his jacket, he wore a tight black t-shirt, gray shorts, white tennis shoes, and white socks. "I don't want to keep you. And thanks for the rose. It's beautiful."

"You're welcome," he replied, his dark eyes bright. "I'm in no rush though. If you want to go and put it in some water, we have time."

"All right," Jeannette smiled and reached for his hand. "Wanna come in and help me find a vase?" She knew she was pouring it on thick, but she couldn't help it. And if he was going for it, why should she stop?

After a quick cup of coffee, he dropped her off at the office and promised that he'd be back to pick her up at the end of the day. "I won't forget you," he said.

"Thank you," Jeannette told him. "Selina wanted to go pick out some new dresses after work today and I told her I'd come with her, so I guess everyone wins."

"Yeah," Jim nodded and pushed back his thick dark hair. "I guess we do."

* * *

"I really think you should go with blue," Jeannette remarked and put a robin's egg blue dress with spaghetti straps against her skin for her approval.

"Yeah, I like this one too," Selina nodded, adding the dress to the four dresses (two blue, two purple) that she already had hanging over her arm. "I think I should go try these on now before I'm carrying the whole store around."

She headed to the dressing room and then Jeannette tensed. Three men who'd coincidentally been in every store they'd been in were now heading in the direction of the dressing rooms as well. It couldn't be just a coincidence any longer. She grabbed her phone out of her purse and quickly called Jim to tell him to get his butt in here because she suspected Selina was in trouble, then ran to the dressing rooms as a scream rang out. She pulled open the door of one of the dressing rooms and found Selina, who was only in her underwear, trying to fight off the three men who had her in their firm grip and when Jeannette tried to help her, they just knocked her down and slammed her head against the dressing room bench, then used their powers to zap Selina away, so that when Jim arrived in the dressing room, all he found was an unconscious Jeannette. Selina was nowhere in sight.

"We have to tell Dorian, and we have to tell him _now,_ " Jeannette remarked, squeezing Jim's arm.

"Yeah," Jim nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

When they told Dorian what had happened, he swore loudly and repeatedly, jumped off the sofa, and made his way toward the door.

"I'm sorry," Jeannette replied.

"You don't have to be sorry," Dorian told her. "It's nothing you did wrong. It's an unfortunate part of my position."

"Do you want me to come too?" Eric offered because a part of him had a fondness for his father's new girlfriend. "I can come."

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary," Dorian told him. "You stay here with your wife. She could be a target too, or you, if they're thinking of taking anyone else."

"Luckily, Selina can handle herself," Jeannette remarked, trying to cheer him up.

"Yes, I know, but it's not just herself that she has to worry about anymore," Dorian replied, then slammed the door shut and tried to focus his mind so that he could figure out where Selina had been taken.

* * *

It was the pain that made Selina open her eyes and cry out. She realized that she was tied up with ropes that were soaked with wolfsbane. When she looked ahead, she realized that Mikael was laughing at her.

"Oh, shit," she muttered. "You kidnapped me from a mall in broad daylight, didn't you? Or you had goons do it, because you're too cowardly to do it on your own."

"Yes," Mikael grinned. "Ever since you and Elijah separated, you've been much too easy to catch. Can't you see why I was upset you had his protection? But now that's over with and I can do what I want."

"Where the fuck am I?" She asked, looking around the dim, cavernous space. "It's not your house. I know Gwen would kill you if she knew what you've done."

"Yes, Gwendolyn knows nothing about this," Mikael nodded. "No one does." He grinned compelled her to stab herself repeatedly with a knife in her thigh. "That's good for me, but very bad for you."

However, what he didn't know was that someone _did_ know. The bracelet Selina wore connected her with Dorian and she knew in her heart that he would be there to get her very soon.

Even as she stabbed herself and groaned in pain, she was aware of two very desperate needs: the need to pee, and the need to throw up. "I know you're happy about getting your vengeance and all, but you might want to let me go, at least for a little while. I have some personal business to take care of."

"No," Mikael shook his head. "I'm not letting you go now that I've finally caught you."

"You _really_ should let me go," Selina insisted and tried to free herself but the ropes wouldn't give. What the hell were they made of? But she got a chuckle a little later on when he came to tighten them and she threw up all over him.

"Oh, damn, I wish I could feel bad about that," she said. "That's why I told you to let me go. I'm not feeling well. _And_ I have to pee!"

"Of course you do," Mikael nodded after wiping himself off the best he could, even though his shirt and pants both still had very obvious stains on them. "Oh, go do your business. I've decided to change what I'm going to do with you anyway."

It was while she was in the bathroom that she heard a door open on one of the upper floors and someone calling her name in a desperate tone. Dorian! She smiled and stood up, straightening her clothes, flushing the toilet, and leaving the bathroom. She then spotted a set of stairs and got up a few when Mikael grabbed her, pushed her down to the ground, and stabbed her once just above the belly and once in the chest as she screamed, "Dorian! Dorian, I'm down here! Help!" Then her eyes met Mikael's. "Why are you doing this to me?" She asked. "I know you're mad that I made you feel like an idiot when I was Lonely Heart, but it's time to let that go."

"What sort of a fool do you take me for?" Mikael asked. "I'm beyond that now. Now that you're carrying a demon's child, what you did as Lonely Heart doesn't matter to me anymore. Now I have _other_ reasons to punish you."

* * *

Meanwhile, at Mikael's house, Gwen was trying to get hold of Elijah and tell him what Mikael was doing with Selina. He'd mentioned wanting to save the world from demons before and doing whatever he had to in order to make sure that was true, even kill Selina. She'd thought it was just an idle threat like his ones against her usually were, but suddenly, she had a bad feeling in her gut, which meant that she couldn't stand idle.

"So you seriously believe that my father is going to hurt Selina?" Elijah asked.

"Yes," Gwen insisted. "He said so last night. At first I thought he was just venting, but now I don't know. You have to go help her!"

* * *

And Selina needed all the help she could get. Just as Mikael was about to lower the knife one last time, he suddenly dropped it as a loud, clear voice sounded from outside the room. "If you don't release Selina right this minute, I will not hesitate to kill you and everyone you love," Dorian called. "Do you understand? Selina? Are you all right? Say something to me if you're all right."

"Yes!" Selina called back. "I'm alive for now."

"Good," Dorian replied. "Lucky for your former father-in-law, so is he."


	64. A Dish Best Served Cold

"You know, threats don't bother me," Mikael told Dorian as he strode into the basement. "I doubt you'll follow through."

"What makes you say that?" Dorian asked, stopping in front of Selina and trying his best to maintain an aura of indifference as he crossed his arms and tried to stare Mikael down.

"Because you would only carry out threats to save something of value, and this one," he looked disdainfully at Selina. "Of all the creatures in all the world, why her? She's not even a demon! She's not your kind! For all you know, she could be worming her way into your life and tricking you!" He grabbed a knife and caught Selina's eye, telling her to take it and stab herself in the heart over and over again, which she did, as blood spurted all over her and Mikael, including on his grinning face.

It took a few seconds for Dorian to snap out of the horror of what he saw before a while oak stake appeared in his hand, he pushed Mikael away from Selina, and drove the stake into Mikael's chest before taking pulling out his heart and giving her half and kissing her deeply, hoping with all his might that that would be enough to bring her back.

He waited, wishing that her beautiful blue eyes would just pop open, she'd take a breath of air, and everything would be okay again. It had to be that way. But she remained still. Finally, he grabbed his phone, pressed the number three, and the voice on the other end spoke.

"Oh, sir, I'm so sorry. I can't believe it happened. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Of course there is!" Dorian snapped. "Don't waste your time sniveling. You know you have a job to do. Get in here and grab this man's body so it's not just stuck here. I have plans for him."

"Right, of course," the man on the other end of the phone assured him before hanging up. He then came into the basement to grab Mikael's body and take it to a safe place to deal with later while he took Selina home and waited for her to wake up, which would hopefully happen very soon.

* * *

Eric was shocked when he opened the door and found Dorian standing in the hallway outside, clutching Selina's bloody, still body. "What the fuck?" He cried. "What happened?"

"Selina was kidnapped and killed," Dorian replied, his voice shaking as he locked eyes with his son and put Selina on the sofa. "I need you to do me a favor, Eric. I need you to call Sophia's father and ask how long it takes for someone who's dead to come back once you've given them your heart. I know he did that with her mother. And I gave Selina part of my heart long enough ago that it's beginning to concern me that she hasn't woken up yet."

"Sure…" Eric nodded and grabbed for his phone. "Sure, I'll give him a call."

"Or I can do it," Sophia volunteered. "Let me. He might not answer the phone if he knows it's you calling straight away."

While she was doing that, both Eric and Dorian watched Selina's body and then Eric remarked to his father, "The man who did this to her…you're not just going to let him get away with it, are you?"

"No, of course not!" Dorian told him. "I'm surprised that you would ask such a thing, Eric. I knew for sure based on his previous attack that that man wouldn't stop until he thought he did away with her, so of course I came up with a plan for revenge. Something that will hurt him horribly! I just need some help with it."

"All right," Eric nodded. "Good." He sighed and took Selina's hand. "You know, of all the girlfriends you've had, she's the first one I've actually liked."

"Isn't that always the way?" Dorian asked as he leaned down and kissed Selina's forehead.

Just then, Sophia came into the room. "All right, my parents are on their way. Dad should be able to help you figure this out. Don't worry, she'll come back."

* * *

When Christian and Jill arrived, it was Eric who opened the door to let them in. He expected Christian to just go straight to Selina's body, but it seemed like Christian had something else in mind first. He gave Eric a wide-eyed look and then strode over to Sophia. "How are things between you two?" He asked. "I hope you're being nice to him."

"What do you mean?" Sophia asked, sensing that something very strange was going on with her father. "Dad, are you saying that you're suddenly okay with me being with Eric?"

"I don't know!" Christian cried. "I mean, what do you do when your daughter is dating your former best friend and boss? What do you do?"

Eric paused. "You…you remember that we were best friends?" He asked. "Really? I can't believe this!" He turned to his father. "Can you believe that, Dad? Christian's human nature has finally been taken over by the demon inside of him! I knew that it would take a while, but it's finally happened!"

"That's nice," Dorian replied dryly as Christian and Eric began to talk about old times. "But we have a situation here! You can reminisce later!"

"Oh, right," Christian nodded as he and Eric quickly separated. "Sorry about that. So you say you put your heart in her some time ago and she hasn't woken up yet? Did I miss something?"

Christian put his ear to Selina's chest. "Well, it's beating in there," he announced. "It's working."

"Then why hasn't she woken up?" Dorian asked. "Why?"

"I don't know," Christian shrugged. "Jill did, so I don't know what to tell you."

"Let's get her to the hospital then," Dorian decided. "She's pregnant, you know. Or she was. I just really want to know what we're dealing with here."

"How in the hell did you know she was pregnant?" Eric asked. "Did she tell you?"

"No, but there were symptoms she was trying to hide," Dorian replied. "She was tired, sick, dizzy. She didn't want to tell me, but I thought for sure that the only reason that a vampire like her would be ill was that she was pregnant."

"Ah," Eric nodded. "Okay."

* * *

The first thing they did when they got Selina to the hospital was to ask the doctors to check on the baby…if it was still alive or if there was even one in the first place. Dorian nearly burst into tears when it was confirmed that not only _was_ there a baby, but that he was alive, his heartbeat strong.

"Oh, oh, that…that's so good!" He got out. "Cause she…she was stabbed so many times that I just…I thought for sure that that would be the end if she was expecting a child."

"Well, you evidently gave her your heart soon enough that the baby didn't incur any real harm," the doctor praised. "Now, as for his mother…"

"If the baby is alive, she has to be too, right?" Dorian asked. "A living baby can't survive in a dead mother, can it?"

"No," The doctor shook his head. "She's alive, don't worry. We just need to give her a little pick me up to get her awake because of how traumatic what she went through was." He then shot her full of adrenaline, her eyes popped open, and she sat up. "My baby!" She cried. "What happened to my baby?" Then she looked at Dorian. "I'm pregnant. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I thought I had time. I didn't know I was going to be kidnapped and murdered and our first chance at parenthood put in jeopardy so I didn't say—"

She was cut off as Dorian grabbed her and hugged her tight. "You're alive," he whispered. "Oh, my god, I'm so happy you're alive! If…if you'd died, if you'd been unable to be brought back…I don't know what I would have done!"

"Really?" Selina asked.

"Of course!" Dorian nodded.

"How…how am I alive now?" Selina questioned. "Mikael went for my heart and once a heart is gone in a vampire, so are they."

"I-I gave you half of mine," he told her. "That's how you're alive now."

She opened her mouth to complain that he shouldn't have taken such a risk and put himself in danger but he shook his head.

"Don't worry," he assured her. "Our organs regenerate. I have a whole heart by now and so do you."

"Ah," Selina nodded and lay back on her pillows. "Thank you, Dorian."

"Of course," he nodded and put a hand on her belly. "Is it all right that I leave you now since you're both awake and alive? I won't be gone forever. I just have a phone to make and some business to attend to, but I promise I'll be back later. While I'm gone, Eric and Sophia will look after you."

"All right," Selina nodded and reached out for his hand, giving it a squeeze. "See you later." Then he paused and came back. "One more thing before I go, and I hope this doesn't scare you, but…now that you have my heart in you, you're a demon. Don't be shocked if you wake up, go to look in the mirror and your face is a little different." He then kissed her cheek and went on his way while Selina pondered this new possibility.

* * *

When he got home, he thought about what he would do with Mikael. How he would punish him for what he'd done to Selina. Then, he got an idea. He called Roxie at the bar and hoped she wasn't busy because she was a big part of his plan.

"Well, this is unexpected but pleasant," Roxie remarked when she heard his voice. "What can I do for you?"

"I have good news and bad news," Dorian told her. "I'll start with the bad news: Mikael fulfilled a life-long ambition and killed your mother. But the god news is that I was nearby when he did it and was able to save her."

"Oh, good!" Roxie replied. "How are you going to punish Mikael? Cause I want in, whatever you do."

"Wonderful!" Dorian exclaimed. "That's what I hoped you would say. Now tell me, does Mikael have any sons that are near and dear to him? Anyone whose loss would absolutely shatter him?"

"Well, there's King," Roxie said. "Mikael likes to pretend he and King aren't close but I know they are. And as an added bonus, Mom was King's nanny for a while when he was growing up, so if he knew Mikael killed her, he'd want revenge on her behalf as well."

"This just keeps getting better and better," Dorian told her. "Would you give him a call and tell him that you need him to come with you to 1313 Archer Street? It's where Mikael's currently staked body is being kept until I'm of mind to revive him."

"Why revive him at all?" Roxie questioned. "He's a pain in the ass. I bet even his wife wouldn't mind you keeping him where he is for a while."

"And I just might," Dorian assured her. "I haven't decided. But I need to at least bring him back long enough to play a little trick on him. To scare him a little, okay?"

"Sounds good," Roxie replied. "I'll call King and we'll meet you at that address. You will be there, right?"

"Of course," Dorian nodded. "See you then."

* * *

"So someone finally got him," King remarked in a tone of hushed awe when he saw his father's body with the stake in the heart. "I didn't even think it was possible. I thought he was too clever. Too ruthless to allow himself to get taken down."

"Not if you ask my dad," Roxie shook her head. "I'm sure I've heard Dad say he's taken Mikael down a time or two over the centuries. Maybe even more than that."

"Well, he wouldn't wouldn't he?" King asked with a grin. Then he turned back to the coffin where his father lay. "I wish I could say I was sad about this," he said to him. "Or angry or whatever. But I can't. And that's really your fault. As your son, I know I should feel some outrage that you were killed like this, but all I feel is really pissed off that you let this…this thing with Selina go on for so long that you killed her when she really is pretty nice. Now, I'm not saying you had to be friends with her, but would it have been so hard to just let her be? I mean, _really._ What rationale did you use to justify killing her? Did you guess that she was pregnant and that's what made you think it was okay to kill her, even if you didn't know she was carrying a demon's child for certain? No wonder I'm on her side and not yours."

"I want him to believe that you've been killed," Dorian said quietly. "Would you be willing to help me orchestrate such a deception?"

"Of course," King sighed. "Not that it'll do much good. I doubt my father even feels enough for me to be upset."

"Sure he does," Roxie replied as she put a hand on King's arm. "He's just not good with feelings, that's all."

"You don't have to make excuses for him," King told her. "I've come to terms with the truth by now."

"So how should we do it?" Dorian asked King. "How should we scare your father into thinking you've been killed?"

"I say we set him on fire," Roxie put forth immediately.

"You didn't have to say it so quickly," King told her with a raised eyebrow. "Do you harbor any resentment toward me that I don't know about?"

"No," Roxie shook her head. "But fire's one of the ways that kills vampires for sure, right? It has to be a believable way for you to die or at least be injured."

"True," King conceded and turned to Dorian. "Can you do that? Can you make it look like I've been set on fire?"

"Of course," Dorian nodded. "But you won't actually _die_ , don't worry."

King took a deep breath and prepared himself just as Roxie took the stake out of Mikael's chest, stepping back so that he could register that both his son and Dorian were side by side. Then, Dorian shot a spell at King and Mikael's eyes widened as he saw King be enveloped by fire and let out a terrible shriek.

He screamed "King!" and bared his teeth as he tried to get out of the coffin, but that was when Roxie stuck the dagger in again and as the flames subsided and King emerged unharmed, Mikael was still again.

"Did it work?" King asked hopefully. "Was he horrified?"

"Oh, yeah," Roxie nodded. "He screamed your name and tried to get out, presumably to try and save you. That's when I daggered him again."

"That's…wow," King remarked, feeling surprised. "I wasn't expecting that." Then he looked at Dorian. "We're not gonna let him _go_ now, are we? He's gonna stay like that for a while?"

"Of course," Dorian nodded. "Unless you'd _like_ me to let him go now?"

"No," King shook his head and took out his phone. "You can keep him right where he is and I'll go tell my mother what happened. I doubt she'll be too worried or even surprised."

"And if she _is_ either of those things, please give her my apologies," Dorian requested.

"All right," King smiled and punched in Gwen's number. "I don't think it'll be necessary, like I said, but I'll keep it at the back of my mind." He looked at Roxie. "Are you gonna tell your dad too?"

"Um, of course!" Roxie nodded. Then she looked at Dorian. "My dad's gonna want proof that Mikael is daggered. Is it okay if he comes and looks at the body?"

"Sure," Dorian nodded. "As long as he doesn't pull the dagger out, that's all right with me."

"Excellent!" Roxie cheered. "Are you gonna go back to Mom now?"

"Yes," Dorian nodded. "Would you like me to give her your good wishes?"

"Please do," Roxie said. "I would love that."

"And me too," King added.

* * *

"You know," Faye remarked as Todd drove her to the drive-in movie and parked his van. "It was really unexpected of you to invite me to a drive-in movie. I would have thought that being in an enclosed space with me in the dark would be the last thing you'd want from me."

"Sorry, if this isn't what you wanted to do," Todd apologized. "I just…it's something I always wanted to do and everyone always goes to movies on dates."

"No, no!" Faye replied as he started the car again. "I want to stay! When I said I was surprised, that didn't mean that I wanted to leave. It's just that…I've heard that when people go to drive-ins on dates, it's not really to watch the movie. That people have other things in mind." She grinned. "That's why I'm surprised. But if you really _do_ just wanna watch the movie, I'll pay for snacks. You want popcorn _and_ candy?"

"Sure," Todd nodded. But when she reached for the door, he stopped her. "We don't need to eat now, do we?"

"No," Faye paused and let the door handle go. "I suppose not. I can wait."

So they sat together and watched the movie, their eyes locked on the screen as the story of a torrid, sexy love affair unfolded before their eyes.

"I can't believe that they're showing this at a drive-in," Todd whispered, his eyes locked on the screen as his hand went up Faye's thigh and sneaked under her skirt. "It's practically porn."

"So wrong, yet so _right,"_ Fay agreed as both characters stripped off their clothes and fell into bed and the man pushed into the woman over and over again. "Oh, god, this is hot!" Her breath began to pick up, warm enough that it fogged up the windows, especially as she felt Todd's lips on her neck.

This wasn't him admitting any feelings, of course, and he hoped she didn't take it that way. He was just…overcome by what was on-screen, that was all. They began kissing, first, little soft kisses, but then ones that made her feel like he was devouring her as his fingers threaded through her hair. But when she felt his hand sneak under her blouse and undo her bra, that's when she pushed him away.

"You know," she said, "I'm feeling a little warm. I think I want to go out and get those snacks now. You want anything?"

"Nope, still good," Todd told her. "You get what you want."

"Yeah," Faye nodded, her breathing still shaky. "All right." She got out of the car, taking several deep breaths before striding to the snack bar, hoping she looked more carefree than she felt.

"What can I get you?" The woman asked when she saw her.

"May I have a large popcorn, a couple of small sodas, and-" She paused, trying to think of a food she could use to make him just as insane as he'd made her. Stupid Todd. Then she had it. "Do you have popsicles?"

"Yes," the woman assured her. "Cherry, orange, or grape?"

"One of each, please," She smiled. "I really can't decide." She paid for her treats and made her way back to the car, handing Todd both the soda and the popcorn, which he ate and drank with his eyes glued to the screen once more.

After a little while, he noticed Faye eating a popsicle out of the corner of his eye. Slowly sucking on it as she pulled it in and out of her mouth. His head turned and he stared, his face heating up.

"What?" Faye asked, taking the treat out of her mouth. "Yeah, I got popsicles. You want one? I have orange and grape left. Thank goodness we also brought that little cooler so I can save them for later if you don't want any."

"And I don't," Todd replied. "I'm not much of a popsicle person."

"That surprises me, based on how closely you were watching me," she said.

"I wasn't watching you because of the popsicle," Todd told her. "Well, I was, but it wasn't because of the popsicle itself, it was because of the way you were sucking on the…oh, shit!" he was becoming delightfully flustered and it was adorable. "You know what, fuck it." He shook his head. "Never mind. Forget I said anything." He tried to look away, but then her tongue poked out from between her full lips, slowly licking up and down the popsicle again. His breathing began to pick up and he quickly turned to face her, his eyes flashing. "Damn it, Faye! Give me that thing!" He grabbed it from her and she let out a cry as he tossed it out the open window.

"Well, apparently someone doesn't like popsicles," Faye remarked. Then she smiled. "You're lucky I still have orange and grape."

"Forget about the damn popsicles," Todd whispered as he grabbed her and pulled her to his chest. "I know this wasn't about them at all. It was about torturing me! About making me feel things! I know that's what you're doing. Don't lie!"

"I won't," Faye told him. "I have no reason to." She paused, leaning forward to whisper in his ear. "What do you say we go in the trunk and I see how _you_ taste?"

Todd didn't have to answer. A growl escaped his throat as they made their way to the trunk of the van and began kissing each other as they ripped off each other's clothes. They sat naked in the trunk and stared at one another, then, she reached out and touched him, applying slow pressure as she worked her way up his shaft.

"Oh…oh, damn!" He said as he closed his eyes. "Good. Good." Then he gasped as he felt her lips take the place of her fingers. She sucked on him gently as he tried to control his breathing. This was driving him crazy. She knew it, and boy would he teach her a thing or two.

After he climaxed, he opened his eyes and found her looking down at him with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Did you like my popsicle trick?" She asked.

Instead of responding, he pushed her onto her back, slipping his hand under her panties and rubbing her furiously. "What do you think?" He asked. Then, he changed directions, sucking gently on her nipples and kissing her stomach before slipping off her panties, parting her legs, and pleasuring her with his tongue.

"Oh, damn!" Faye breathed. "How…are you sure you've never done this before? Cause you know what you're doing."

"Beginner's luck, I guess," Todd replied, pausing for a moment before continuing with his own popsicle trick, licking her over and over again until she climaxed herself. He wanted to do more, to bury himself inside her over and over again, but he feared that would bring too much attention to them. This would have to do for now. This was really all he could handle for the moment, if he was being totally honest.

They continued to make out and pleasure each other until they realized the credits were rolling and they hadn't watched any of the movie at all.

"Should we stay for the second film?" Faye questioned as she lay her red head on his chest.

"No, I don't think so," Todd replied and looked for his clothes so he could begin the drive home. "We'd probably get distracted and miss that one too. You think?"

"Yeah," Faye sighed, dressing herself and coming to sit next to him in the passenger's seat. "You're probably right."


	65. Where Do We Go From Here?

"So she was _killed_?" Helene asked Jill, wide-eyed as she gripped Malachai's hand. "Selina was murdered?"

"Yes," Jill nodded. "In a sense. I believe Dorian was able to get his heart in her soon enough that she was able to be resuscitated, but it's still so alarming to see someone dead and covered in blood."

"Yeah," Helene nodded. "It was Mikael who killed her, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Jill nodded. "How did you know?"

"Oh, believe me, I've been aware of Mikael's obsessive hatred for Selina a lot longer than you have," Helene told her. "I'm shocked that things ended the way they did, though."

Everyone in the room sat in respectful silence after that until Todd came into the room, singing a happy song.

"Why are you singing 'Walking on Sunshine'?" Jill questioned, the tense mood broken.

"Why does it matter?" Todd asked, his mood darkening again. "Can't a guy sing without being interrogated by his family?"

"Because it's so unlike you, Mr. Grumpy," Percy told him. "Don't bite our heads off cause we're curious."

Todd just rolled his eyes and went into the kitchen, groaning when Malachai gave him a conspiratorial wink and whispered, "I know you don't want to tell _them_ what's going on, but you can tell _me,_ right? Who is she? What's her name? Is it that nice Faye girl?"

"Yeah, I think it is," Jill grinned, joining them. "I mean, we could chalk it up to some sort of sickness, but he doesn't look ill."

Just then the doorbell rang and Malachai asked Percy and Jill to hold Todd back as he went to answer it, grinning when he saw Faye on the doorstep. "Well, isn't this a delightful coincidence?" He grinned as he invited her in. "We were just talking about you. Apparently, something happened between you and Todd that made him very happy."

"Well, good," Faye smiled. "That's nice to hear."

Then Malachai shouted, "Hey, everyone! Faye is here! Isn't that nice, Todd?"

A few seconds later, Todd came stomping over to join them, gave Faye a sour look, grabbed her by the hand, and pulled her away from his father. "You couldn't have called first?" He whispered. "They've been giving me crap about us all morning and you showing up here is just adding more fuel to the fire!"

"Well, we can leave then," Faye told him, not letting herself get ruffled by his bad mood. "That's what I came here for anyway. To see if, by some miracle, you'd want to go on a second date with me."

"Sure," Todd nodded. "Anything to get out of this house."

"That's not the reasoning I would prefer, but it's better than nothing," Faye smiled as she took his hand. "Let's go!"

* * *

"So, what did you have in mind for this date two?" Todd questioned as they walked down the street toward town, not holding hands, but very close together. "It better not be something like an art museum or a fancy French restaurant, cause I won't do that, Faye. I won't."

"It's not that, don't worry," Faye assured him. "Do you like ice cream?"

"Yeah, I…guess I do," Todd nodded.

"Good," Faye smiled. "Cause I know of a place that has fifty different flavors and I always wanted to go and try them all but I never…I never found the right time until now. Or I never wanted to go on my own because people would think I was weird, but if I go with someone and people think it's a date…"

"Think it's a date?" Todd repeated. "Are you saying it's not?"

"It's whatever we want it to be," Faye told him. "Does the label really matter as long as we're spending time with each other?"

"No, I don't think so," Todd shrugged. "So we're gonna go to this place and try out fifty flavors of ice cream?"

"Yeah," Faye smiled. "Unless it's too much for you and you're chicken?"

"Oh, I am _not_ chicken," Todd shook his head and grabbed Faye's hand. "I am all for it."

"Okay, this is the last one," Faye grinned at a very stuffed Todd as she held up a sample spoonful of chocolate mint. "Have this one and you will have tried every ice cream in this store. Unless you give up and concede defeat to me?"

"That is not fair," Todd complained and then said in a lower voice, "You probably have some super weird high fairy metabolism or something."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," Faye smiled. "So…are you gonna take the spoonful, or not?"

Then, Todd got an idea. He smiled and nodded. "Sure. I'll take that last spoonful."

As she moved the spoon closer and close to his mouth, he suddenly grabbed her and kissed her instead, the spoon landing face down on her white denim shorts and making a very obvious stain.

Surprised, she didn't immediately kiss back, but when he pulled away, she grinned. "You still lost, you know." Then she left money on the table, grabbed his hand, and led him out to her car, where they made out in the backseat, their hands roaming all over each other until they pulled apart cause they were both struggling to breathe.

"Sorry my car isn't as roomy as yours," Faye apologized as Todd kissed her neck.

"That's an easy problem to fix," Todd replied with a smile. "Do you think Liam and Mary would object to us paying a little visit? Cause there's no way in hell that I'm ready to do any mushy stuff at my house. Too many people live there."

"Yeah, let's go see Liam and Mary," Faye agreed and climbed into the front seat of her yellow bug. "I'm sure they won't mind. In fact, Liam seemed delighted when you showed up last time."

There was a tension in the air during the ride to Liam and Mary's because they both wanted to touch each other and kiss each other so bad, but since Faye was driving, Todd knew that would be a bad idea.

* * *

When they arrived at their destination, Faye parked her car (which was actually borrowed from Mary) in the driveway and then they got out, kissing as they made their way to the front door. Then when they reached the front door, Faye began to unlock it until it all became too much for poor Todd to handle and he pushed her butt against the door, closing it as he and Faye began to make out again. Her shirt was halfway off and Todd had just unhooked her bra when they heard the sound of someone clearing his throat behind them. They quickly fixed their clothes and then turned to face Liam, who was staring at them with a raised eyebrow.

Instead of apologizing, Faye just grabbed Todd's hand, said, "Thank you," and led Todd up the stairs to her bedroom as Liam watched in surprise.

When he heard a door slam shut, Liam sighed and went to join Mary on the sofa. "Who was at the door?" She asked curiously. "Has Faye come back?"

"Yeah," Liam nodded. "She's come back. And she brought a friend with her up to her room. Named Todd."

* * *

"How are you?" Elijah asked as Gwen let him into the empty house which lacked the tense air it had when his father was around. "I hope you're not too lonely."

"Oh, I'm not," Gwen replied. "Don't get me wrong, your father had his appeal to me and I don't hate him, but sometimes he could be so exasperating. I'm relishing this time to step back and take a breath!"

"This might sound sort of morbid, but I think you won't mind, which is why I'm asking, but…would you like to see his body?" Elijah questioned. "Father's, I mean? Do you need proof that he's going to be gone for a while?"

"Yes, please," Gwen nodded and grinned a bloodthirsty grin. "Let's go!"

So Elijah took her to the warehouse where Dorian was keeping Mikael's body, and when he pulled the lid off the box, Gwen smiled.

"Well, look at that?" She said. "There's something I never thought I'd see." She put her hand on the stake and laughed. "I bet you're thinking that I'm gonna pull this out, aren't you? But I won't!" She chuckled and spat on his jacket, which made Elijah wince. "I'm glad you're gone," she continued. "At least for now, anyway. I hope this little time out helps you learn not to be such a fool, Mikael. I really hope it does."

They stood in awkward silence for a little while and then Elijah asked, "Would you like to come home with me and meet my new daughter? She's a demon, you know. Amy and I adopted her after Father blew up Dorian's club and deprived her of her parents."

"Oh, I would love to," Gwen replied. "You are such a nice young man, Elijah."

* * *

When they arrived at Amy and Elijah's, Amy smiled and came to give Gwen a hug.

"How are you?" Gwen asked her. "Well, I hope? I hear you've adopted a little girl."

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "Lily. She's very sweet. Would you like to meet her? She's very personable."

"I would," Gwen nodded as she went to get herself a glass of water. "That's what I came here for." She paused. "Unless Lily's not the type to take to strangers. I wouldn't want to scare her."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Amy assured her. "She warmed up to Elijah and wanted to live with us forever after a matter of hours. She's not easily intimidated or shy at all."

"And she's a demon, right?" Gwen asked, looking at Elijah. "Did you say that?"

"I did," Elijah nodded. "Which is why I'm not exactly weeping over Father's imprisonment. When we went and saw Dorian about her adoption, he basically asked if she would be safe with us and we confessed that Elijah _did_ have some relatives that would cause trouble, but we would watch out for her, of course. So it's kind of a relief to know that we don't have to look over our shoulders to make sure he's not coming after Lily now."

"Cause you know he would if he was certain his son was harboring a demon child," Gwen nodded. "He's very ruthless that way." She shook her head. "It's so sad what happened to Selina. He was so convinced that she was pregnant and that he had to kill her before things got too far along." She sighed. "I don't know what happened. He was so normal for a while and then it all just fell apart."

"Oh, I don't know if Mikael has _ever_ been 'normal'," Amy scoffed. "It could just be that up until now you were more tolerant of his eccentricities, but out and out murdering Selina crossed the line."

"Yes, that's probably it," Gwen nodded. Then she smiled as Lily entered the room. "Hello," she said. "Are you Lily?"

"Yes I am," Lily nodded. "What's _your_ name?"

"I'm Gwen," Gwen replied. "It's nice to meet you, Lily."

"Is it really?" Lily questioned. "You're not mad that I'm a demon?"

"Well, are you going to hurt me or anything?" Gwen asked, surprised by Lily's frank question.

"No, of course not," Lily shook her head. "Why does everyone always ask that?"

"Well, because we've heard things that may or may not be true about demons wanting to take over and hurt witches, werewolves, and vampires, so people are a little nervous," Gwen explained. "That's probably why they ask."

"I don't know why _they're_ nervous," Lily replied, frowning and crossing her arms. " _My_ mommy and daddy were the ones who got blowed up."

" _Did_ they?" Gwen asked and gave her a hug. "I'm very sorry about that."

"Thank you, but it's okay cause I got a new mommy and daddy now," Lily told her.

"But if you ever want to talk about your first mommy and daddy, don't hesitate to say something," Amy said. "I want to make sure you know that."

"Thank you," Lily smiled as she snuggled up next to Gwen. "You know," she told the older witch. "I like you."

"Really?" Gwen asked, feeling power in this girl that she knew would probably be put to good use some day. "That's good because I like you too."

* * *

When Dorian brought Selina home from the hospital, he realized very quickly that being murdered had changed her. She wasn't the bright and sunny woman he fell in love with, but instead stuck to her bed and cried. Dorian's first impulse was to try and say things to cheer her up. To remind her that their baby was still alive, they were having a boy, and now Mikael was gone and he wouldn't bother her anymore, but after a few minutes of this, he realized that it wasn't working.

"Thank you for trying to cheer me up," she told him. "I know I have lots of things to be happy about, including just being alive thanks to you, but…I just…I don't know what's happening. I'm just so sad! I'm sorry, Dorian."

"Oh, you don't have to be sorry," Dorian shook his head and kissed her hair as he pulled her close. He was wearing a button down green shirt and dark jeans. The shoulder of the shirt darkened as Selina sobbed into it. "If this is how you'll get better, if what you need to do now is cry, go ahead. You can do it on my shoulder, just like you are right now."

"Thank you," Selina nodded and hugged him tight. Then he lay back on the bed with her head on his chest, stroking her hair as she sobbed into his shirt.

* * *

She remained in her bedroom for a few more days, but Dorian was very relieved when she finally emerged, showered and dressed in a clean outfit. He wouldn't have pushed her to leave before she was ready, but at the same time, he was beginning to get concerned.

"It's so nice to see your lovely face today," Dorian remarked as she sat next to him at the table. "And what a lovely outfit!"

"Thank you," Selina gave him a small smile as she wiped off the red shirt with the low neckline and empire waist that hung a little lower than a typical t-shirt and snug dark denim capris she wore underneath it. "I decided that I needed to get up and take a shower, even if I didn't really feel the best."

"You know, I can give you another dose of potion if the symptoms of your pregnancy are becoming too overwhelming," Dorian offered. "But then again, since you're technically a demon now, it shouldn't be any more difficult than the pregnancies you had when you were a hybrid or a human."

Selina nodded and then said, "You wanna know why I freaked out so much after all that happened?"

"Well, you were murdered," Dorian shrugged. "I didn't think there was anything odd or uncalled for about your reaction at all."

"Thanks for that," Selina nodded. "But there was more to it than that. When I was human, I caught scarlet fever. It was something you could die from in those days and after the doctor, who was a vampire, saved my life…that's when he told me I was pregnant with my first child. If he hadn't saved me, then it wouldn't have been just my own life that was lost. It would have been my son's, too, and this…this gave me flashbacks to that. It was bad enough to go through the first time and not a picnic to go through again." She put a hand on her belly and took a deep breath. "I'm just glad the baby's okay." She paused. "Did I…did I hear the doctor say we're having a boy? How could they know that already?"

"Because it's more than just genitalia on demons that determines sex," Dorian explained. "And some of those differences appear much earlier."

"Ah," Selina nodded. "Okay." She then laid her head down on the table and said, "You know, I think I might go back to bed. I'm feeling tired again."

"All right," Dorian nodded. "And if you…if you'd like to talk to someone other than me, don't hesitate to call your parents or your uncle or someone else. That wouldn't bother me one bit."

"I might do that," Selina nodded, her voice becoming flat. "Thank you for the suggestion."

* * *

"Well, look who showed up with puffy eyes and chicken," Her uncle Andrew remarked, trying to keep his tone light, although the second Selina put all the food she'd brought on the table, he took her in his arms and hugged her tight as she reached up to move some of his dark curls out of his eyes. "What happened?" He asked. "Something bad? Did you and your husband have a fight?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "This has nothing to do with Dorian at all. It's just that, for years, Elijah's father has wanted to kill me because in the twenties, I lost my temper and went on a murder spree. Mikael feels it's his job to catch vampires that do that and risk putting other vampires in danger, but since Elijah was feeling protective of me, he never got the chance to punish me for what I did. But now that Elijah and I are separated, Mikael saw his chance for revenge and he took it. He stabbed me…over and over, until I was dead. But luckily for me, Dorian was there and he…he saved my life."

"Well, thank goodness for that," her uncle remarked. He then watched her dive into her mashed potatoes and gravy without pausing to breathe. "Is there anything else that happened that you'd like to tell me about? When your mother drinks the way you're eating, I know there's a problem. Or I could just mind my own business. Whichever you like."

"I'm pregnant," Selina told him. "And when Mikael killed me, I thought…I thought I lost the baby…my life, everything I was looking forward to, just when it seemed things were finally coming together for me. It really hits a person when something like that happens." She paused. "But you would know, right? I mean, Imagine you felt the same way when Mama told you that she found out she was pregnant with Thomas around the time you were killed."

"Yes, exactly," Andrew nodded and pulled the chicken bucket toward himself. "Can I have some of this? Are there any breasts in here? If not, I would settle for a thigh or two. Or a leg."

"Don't worry," Selina assured him. "I got a little bit of everything. And a cake."

"A cake?" Andrew's eyes widened and he began rooting around in the bucket, under the biscuits and coleslaw. "They give you cake too? No wonder you get food from this place."

"I know it's not good for me," Selina shrugged. "But I can't help it. It's so _tasty_!"

As they ate, Amelia came home and paused in front of them. "Hello, Selina," she greeted her daughter.

"Hello, Mama," Selina returned after she swallowed because she knew how her mother felt about her talking with a full mouth, something her uncle probably knew about too, but didn't care as much.

"Hello, Amelia," He told her.

"Hello, Andrew," Amelia winced, and then sat down. "I see chicken. Are all the wings gone?"

"I might have left a few in there for you if you wanted them," Andrew smiled.

"Well, aren't you nice?" Amelia remarked. Then she looked at her daughter. "Is there a reason you're gorging yourself this way, or is it just for the heck of it?"

"She's pregnant with Dorian's baby," Andrew got out.

"Are you?" Amelia told her. "Well…congratulations are in order, I suppose."

"They are," Selina nodded. "Especially since I still have the baby even though I was kidnapped and murdered."

"Oh, my god!" Amelia cried. "How in the hell did that happen?" She didn't wait for an answer, but went to the kitchen to get a bottle of bourbon.

"Do I need to pour that for you?" Andrew questioned, his dark eyes locked on her.

"No," Amelia told him. "I'm just going to have a little, I swear."

But Andrew kept his eye on her until she'd finished pouring and pushed the bottle in his direction. "Thank you," he told her as he watched her delicately remove chicken wings from the box. He went to put the bourbon away, and when he got back to the table, he found that Selina and Amelia were sharing the cake. "Hey, save some of that for me!" He announced as Amelia pushed some of the chocolate cake in his direction.

As she watched her mother and uncle eat, Selina gave a small chuckle. "You know, this is the longest I've talked to anybody since I got out of the hospital. I've kind of been…locked away since then."

"And that's fine," Amelia told her and put a hand on her arm. "You don't have to explain yourself or apologize for that."

"I know, but sometimes it feels like I do, you know?" Selina replied, hugging her arms against her chest. "Cause being alone…that's not how I deal with things. I _hate_ being alone!"

That's when Amelia hugged her. "And the good thing about being alone is that it's not something you have to be if you don't want to be. If you want to talk, you know I'm just a phone call or a drive away."

"Yes," Andrew nodded and hugged her too. "And me."

"Thanks," Selina told them, feeling herself start to tear up again. "Thanks a lot."

* * *

"There's something I need to tell you," Junior told Sarah as they and Eleanor hung out in her bedroom. "I've been holding back but now I can't avoid it anymore."

"What is it?" Sarah asked as she watched him cuddle their daughter. "It sounds serious."

"Well, you know when I came it wasn't to stay forever," Junior reminded her. "Remember, I have to go back to England to work on my degree. It's not going to be too much longer, though."

"Excuse me?" Sarah asked and stood up, gently taking Eleanor. "You can't just get up and leave! What sort of father are you? Hasn't Eleanor lost enough in her life?"

"I'm not saying she hasn't," Junior replied. "What I'm telling you is that there's no way around my going back to England. When I came here, I didn't know I would suddenly become a father. Otherwise, I would have planned more carefully."

"You can't just leave her," Sarah told him firmly. "I won't let you."

"I don't plan to just up and leave her," Junior assured her. "That's why I'm telling you this now: so we can plan a way for me to be part of Eleanor's life while I'm doing my schooling."

"Oh, who gives a shit about your schooling?" Sarah cried and put Eleanor down in her crib. "You know you don't need it. It was just something for you to do while we sorted things out. But things are better now. Or at least I thought they were. They must not be if you just want to pack up and leave again."

"Oh, stop!" Junior snapped. "Stop making something as simple as my wanting to be educated a big drama where everything is piling up against poor you and big bad Sean doesn't give a shit. Cause you know that's not true. You just want to pick a fight!"

"You think my anger is just about _me?"_ Sarah asked in an angry whisper. "If that's what you think, how dumb are you? This isn't about me! If it were just you and me, I would be happy to let you go and do what you need to do. But not now!"

"This just isn't fair!" Junior told her. "When I came for this visit, I had no idea that my daughter was alive, much less that I would be a parent before my trip was over. Therefore, I wasn't able to plan for what my life would be like if she was in it, therefore, it's not really fair to act like I'm being purposefully neglectful, is it?"

"No one said life was fair," Sarah snapped. "If you want things to be fair, you won't find that here. If you really cared, you wouldn't leave. That's all I'm saying. I'm not saying you can't go."

"You _are_!" Junior hissed. "You're practically shouting it. And not only are you saying that I can't leave, you're gonna judge me for doing so. There's no way for me to win unless I give up what I want to please you and I don't want to." He paused. "Would you let me take Ellie to Europe with me?"

"Do you really think you could care for a baby on your own while also studying?" Sarah questioned. "I don't think you should put that sort of pressure on yourself."

"All right, then come with me," Junior put forth. "The two choices we have that I will agree to is either I go and we talk to each other every night on the phone or on video chat, or you both come with me and we live in England as a family until I finish my degree and come home.

"There's a third option," Sarah added stubbornly.

"No, there's not," Junior's voice was firm. "I told you what I was willing to accept and you'll just have to decide. We both want what's best for Eleanor, Sarah. Don't end up making the wrong choice just because you're mad at me."

Sarah sighed. "How long do I have to think about it?"

"Not long," Junior replied. "I mean, you don't have to decide right this minute, but don't dawdle too much." He then picked Eleanor up and left the room as Sarah sat down hard in the rocking chair and tried to make the best choice for Eleanor.


	66. We Didn't Start The Fire

Todd spent a lot of time with Faye at Liam and Mary's in the following days, something which surprised Faye a lot.

"You know," she told him as they lay side by side on her bed, clad in jeans and t-shirts. "I'm really surprised how much we've seen of each other lately. I thought that from the first time we talked, all you wanted to do was avoid me."

"Oh, believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are," Todd told her, sliding his hand under her shirt to feel the soft skin of her belly. "But oddly enough, when I'm here, when it's just you and me, it feels more like home than, you know, my father's house, which is just full of people and everyone wants you to talk or play a game or whatever, and I just…I can't do it."

"I know," Faye replied, taking his hand and kissing his fingers one by one. "I know you do better when it's just you and me together. I like it that way too."

"Yeah," Todd put his arms around her and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "When you're not being so fairy-like and you're acting like a person instead, you're really not so bad."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Faye replied, leaning forward and kissing him deeply. When the kiss ended, she and Todd were left staring at one another.

"I like it when we do that," he told her at last. "Wanna do it again?"

"Sure," Faye smiled. "I would love to."

But just like had happened at the movies, what began as a kiss turned into more. Before they knew it, they were both naked and looking into each other's eyes, breathing heavily.

"Okay," Faye said. "I know what I want to do next, but I need to check: How would you like to proceed? Like we did at the movies? Or just…go all in?"

"Oh, I have no problem with going all in," Todd replied. "Not with you. Not anymore."

So they kissed again, with Faye straddling him. "You don't mind me being on top, do you?" She asked, her red hair brushing his bare chest.

"I know I couldn't stop you if that's where you wanted to be," he told her. "And besides, I know we'll be switching places later, so I'm not worried."

She laughed and leaned down so that he could take her face in his hands and kiss her again. Then she grabbed his hand and gently sucked on his finger while feeling him move inside her.

Soon though, she found herself changing positions with him. She let out a giggle as she landed on the mattress and felt his hands roaming over her body. He didn't waste time, immediately beginning to pleasure her with his tongue before giving her a lopsided grin and getting on his knees, burying himself in her over and over, his hands cupping her breasts and squeezing gently as soft moans escaped her half-open lips.

When they finally decided to take a break and just lay beside one another in Faye's bed, she looked at him and said, "I liked that."

"Well, good," Todd blushed a little. "I…I haven't done a lot of that, like I told you before. I don't really like to spend a lot of time around people. I don't trust them."

"Would you tell me why not?" Faye questioned. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but if you can, I'd like to know."

Todd sighed and kissed her palm before saying, "Growing up a magical person in the human world really makes you fucked up, okay? My mom died giving birth to me, her husband told everyone at the hospital that he didn't want to raise me on his own, so he just left me there, and I…I was put in a home where one of my 'caregivers', and I use that term loosely, would burn me with cigarettes every time he thought I was doing something wrong, which was every fucking second of the day. I could never do anything right in his eyes."

"So that's what these scars are," Faye said as she noticed the alarming round marks on his arms and legs. "Oh, my god. I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

"Thanks," Todd told her as she began gently kissing every mark on his arms. "But that's the past now. No use dwelling on it."

"If you'll let me, I'll make it so you'll never think of that horrible man again," Faye told him. "Will you let me do that for you, Todd?"

"Sure," Todd nodded. "I mean, I don't know how successful you'll be because it's something that's hard to forget but I definitely wouldn't be against you trying. What can I do for you when you do this for me?"

"Nothing," Faye told him. "I don't need you to do anything for me in return."

"Nothing is ever free," Todd told her. "Nothing."

"That's not true," Faye shook her head and gave him a hug. "The _best_ things in life are free. Haven't you heard that?"

* * *

"You know," AnnaLynne panted as a naked Klaus got handcuffs out of the dresser drawer and cuffed her to the bedpost. "I can easily get out of these."

"Oh, you won't want to, I promise," Klaus assured her as he got in bed and buried himself inside her over and over while kissing her belly. "I know this is a bit of a different position for us, but for once, I wanted to look in your eyes."

"You know," she grinned and pulled him down to kiss her. "I think I like it. It gives me the creeps when you stare at me like that."

"If you think that's a good thing, no wonder we get along so well," Klaus told her. He then went to nibble on her neck and she shook her head. "I don't know if you want to do that," she said.

"Oh, right, cause of your fear of needles or being punctured," Klaus nodded. "Sorry," He busied himself with sucking gently on her nipples, and between gasps, she managed to get out, "Well, that, but depending on how much blood you consumed, you'd end up with demon traits, and even if it's just temporary, I don't know if you or the world are ready for that."

Klaus grinned. "A vampire-werewolf-demon hybrid? Interesting. I think I might like that."

AnnaLynne scoffed. "That doesn't surprise me. You always want more and more, don't you? You actually like me for me, right? And not just because I could theoretically give you more power if I wanted to?"

"Of course," Klaus assured her. "I see what you can give me as nothing but a delightful bonus!"

"You better," AnnaLynne replied, then giggled as Klaus ran his tongue around her belly button

Then she let out a cry as he sank his teeth into her thigh and began lapping up blood.

"You bastard," she said when he loomed over her, her blood all over his mouth. "I told you not to do that."

"Well, do you ever listen when someone tells you to do something?" He asked with a grin that showed his bloodstained teeth.

"No," AnnaLynne shook her head. "Not really. How do I taste?"

Klaus chuckled and lowered his head, pleasuring her with his tongue. "Wonderful," he whispered in her ear, which made her shiver. "You always leave me wanting more."

* * *

"Do we really have to do this?" Whispered the man in the black leather jacket as he and his much skinnier friend watched the bar they'd been assigned to blow up from across the street. "I mean, the boss is gone, and it doesn't seem like he's gonna come back. Let's not and say we did."

"Okay, you can run like a coward," his friend remarked, wide-eyed. "But knowing him, he'll manage to make his way back somehow and I don't want to feel his wrath if he sees we didn't do what he paid us to do."

"Oh, but come on!" Leather Jacket groaned and gave his friend a good shake. "This is a bar! What a waste of good alcohol!"

"We can fix that," Skinny told him. "We take the alcohol and then we set the place on fire. Nothing is wasted and we get a bonus for doing the work, which we deserve because we sure aren't going to get paid in a prompt manner the way things are right now, are we?"

"No, I guess not," Leather Jacket sighed and then they watched the bar a little more before getting in their car and making plans to destroy it, which they would carry out the next day.

* * *

"So how's your chicken?" Vince asked Roxie as they sat across from each other at a cozy table for two by the window of a restaurant whose chief draw was that it gave people good views of the city because it was so high up.

"Great," Roxie nodded. "And your steak? Is it good? Do you wish you should have gone with medium rare? And can I have some of your fries? Would you mind?"

"No, go ahead," Vince replied. Just as he put a bite of steak in his mouth, Roxie's phone rang.

"Hello?" She asked, worried. Cause it was Sam who'd called and she'd instructed him specifically not to call unless something horrible was happening. "Sam, what's going on?"

"I know you probably don't want to be bothered while you're eating, but…" Sam paused to cough. "Just thought you'd want to know that the bar is on fire."

"Oh, my god!" Roxie replied, rising so fast that her chair fell over. "What do you mean the bar is on fire?"

"I mean just what I say," Sam told her. "Smoke is everywhere, so are flames, it's hot, people are running for their lives! And I think I know who did it, but they escaped in all the confusion."

"Damn!" Roxie shook her head. "Okay, you get out of there. Vince and I will be there as quick as we can." She ended the call and told Vince, "Sam says the bar is on fire and the arsonists escaped. We have to go. Now!"

"Yes, I guess we do," Vince nodded. "You get the car, I'll pay the check."

Roxie nodded and soon, the two of them were speeding toward the bar. "Don't mind the speed limit," Roxie told Vince. "If we're stopped by the cops, I'll handle it."

* * *

But they weren't and when they reached the bar, firemen were already at work trying to quell the blaze.

"You can't go in there," a fireman said as he stopped them when they tried to make their way toward the door. "It's too dangerous."

"This is our bar!" Roxie cried. "We have to get in there! How the hell did this happen?"

"We don't know," Leslie replied as she made her way out. "We think it might be to cover up the theft of alcohol and some of the stereo equipment, but of course we can't be sure."

"Oh shit," Roxie said. "Where's Sam? Have you called Damon?"

"Yeah, Sam did," Leslie nodded. "He's on his way. And Sam's inside, trying to corral Sammy Jr. cause there's no way he's just gonna let him die in there."

"He would save the dog," Roxie replied as Vince proclaimed he was gonna go in and help him.

"Be careful!" Roxie called as he pushed his way past anyone who would stop him.

"Who do you think would do something like this?" Leslie questioned. "Or why?"

"I don't know for sure, but I have a pretty good idea about the 'why' at least, and possibly the 'who'," Roxie told her. "Which is why I need to call for some very special backup."

* * *

"That's awful to hear, Roxanne," Dorian told Roxie as she told him the story of what was going on at the bar. "Of course I'll come and help."

"Thanks," Roxie replied. "I think the fire is demon-related. Not that I'm saying a demon did it, but maybe Mikael thought setting the place on fire would be another way to punish Mom because of her being with you. Or me for being close to you, or…I don't know."

"You could be right, which is why I'm coming," Dorian told her. "I'll be there as quick as I can."

"What's going on?" Selina asked. "What happened? Where are you going? Should I come with you?"

"No," Dorian shook his head. "Roxie called to say that the bar is on fire and she suspects it might have something to do with demons, either that a demon set it, or someone is punishing you or her for being in the demon circle. Eric and I will manage things. You and Sophia stay here."

"Oh, like hell," Selina stood up. "I'm coming too. If the baby can survive me being murdered, I don't think being around a fire will hurt it!"

So despite Dorian and Eric's protests, Selina and Sophia joined them on the trip to Roxie's and Selina called Klaus from the car to tell him what was going on.

"It wasn't enough for him to kidnap and murder me like he always wanted to do," she said. "Now, even though he's been daggered, he's still causing trouble. There's no end to his bullshit, is there?"

"No," Klaus sighed. "I'm afraid not. How's Roxanne? Did you say she's alive?"

"As far as I know," Selina reassured him. "She's the one who called Dorian to tell him about the fire. He and I are on our way there now."

"Good," Klaus replied. He ended the call and looked at Annalynne, who was watching him curiously.

"What fire?" She asked.

"My daughter's bar is on fire," Klaus told her. "She thinks it's demon related so she got your father to help."

"Well, I think I should go too, then," AnnaLynne remarked. "You mind moving so I can get up?"

"Of course," Klaus replied, pulling out of her and putting some pants on. "If you'd like to help, I'm not going to stop you."

* * *

Roxie was very relieved when Dorian finally arrived. "Thank you so much for coming," she said as she hugged him. "You didn't have to, but you did."

"It's no trouble, really," he told her. "If demons did have something to do with this, or if it was in any way demon related, I don't want to sit idly by." He paused. "So what should be done first?"

"Well, the most important thing is that my husband is in there helping my brother try and rescue his dog and I think they got stuck in some wreckage," Roxie replied. "Can you go in fire? I know things didn't end well for the demons when your club blew up."

"Bombs are trouble because they blow apart body parts, but fire…we can handle fire no problem," Dorian told her. "Just be patient and we'll have your husband and brother out in hardly any time at all."

"And my brother's father," Roxie added.

"Are you kidding me?" Selina asked. "Not that I would chide Damon for wanting to go in and save his son, but this is fire! It's one of the few things that could actually kill him."

"You're not gonna try and be a hero, are you?" Dorian asked her.

"No, I just wanted to be included, that's all," Selina replied and put an arm around Roxie as Sophia grabbed her other free hand and they watched Dorian, Eric, and a suddenly-appearing AnnaLynne go into the bar to rescue Vince, Damon, and Sam.

* * *

"First, I will say 'Thank you' for coming to try and rescue me and my little guy," Sam told Damon and Vince as they sat stuck in one of the upstairs rooms with Sammy Junior under Sam's shirt to protect him from the smoke. "Then I will remind you that fire can kill you. This was a risk you were taking!"

"But it's a worthwhile one because you're my son," Damon told him. "I'm not going to let you die!"

"Yeah," Vince agreed. "Exactly!"

"You're not gonna let me die _alone,"_ Sam corrected. "I don't know how we're gonna get out of here. The doors and windows are both stuck. So do we just sit back and die? That's our only option!"

But then the door to the room burst open and Dorian, Eric, and AnnaLynne charged in. "It's time for you to get out of here before you all die!"

"How do you suggest we get out?" Sam asked. "There's too much fire downstairs and the windows are stuck here and…"

"Why didn't you just break the damn window then?" AnnaLynne questioned.

"Cause that's not gonna do anything but get us hurt," Sam replied.

"Do you want to live, or do you want to die?" Eric asked. "Cause no matter what way you choose to leave, there'll be some risk. It just depends if it's a risk worth taking."

Sam could hear Sam Junior whimpering in his shirt and that's when he decided that he needed to get the dog out. "All right," he said determinedly. "How are we gonna leave? Can you just zap us out from here? Fire may not harm you, but it will us."

To be at their most powerful, Dorian, AnnaLynne, and Eric all became demons, and then AnnaLynne picked up Sam and the dog. "Do you have a good hold on him?" She asked in her distorted voice.

"Yeah," Sam nodded and swallowed nervously.

"Good," she nodded and then zipped them out of the room at such a fast speed that they didn't even feel the fire touch them. The next thing he did feel was the ground as AnnaLynne set him down on the pavement outside the bar. Dorian followed with Vince soon after, and Eric with Damon.

"Not that I'm mad because you wanted to save your dog," Leslie said as she sat down next to Sam while he went through a nearly unnecessary check over by ambulance personnel and was hugged and kissed by his mother. "But if you scare me like that again, I'm gonna be so mad at you. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Sam nodded as he hugged his chocolate lab close. "But I had to save Sammy. I couldn't leave him behind."

"No," Leslie patted the dog's head. "I really don't think you could."

Meanwhile, Dorian smiled as he watched Vince and Roxie hug. "Thank you for saving my husband," she told Dorian. "I appreciate it. He's everything to me."

"I am?" Vince asked in surprise.

"Of course!" Roxie told him. "Just because I don't say it as often as I should doesn't mean it isn't true." Then she looked at Dorian. "Instead of rebuilding, does that offer to come work at the club you're rebuilding still stand?"

"Of course," Dorian nodded. "I'd love to have you. I should let Sam know about that too." He paused. "Do you think Sam would come?"

"Of course," Roxie said ruefully as the fire began to be tamed. "It's not like he and I have anywhere else to go."

Vince sighed. "I know it's sad to see the bar go, but at least we're alive. That's good, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose," Roxie huffed. "If I ever find out who burned it down, I'm gonna beat them til they're dead!"

"And I'll be watching and clapping from the sidelines," Vince added, watching the fire as well. "You know I will."


	67. Hearing Things You Shouldn't

"Faye!" Jill said in surprise as she let her in the house and led her to sit down on the sofa. "You look exhausted, are you okay?" She smiled and winked. "Or has Todd been keeping you awake at night?"

"Oh, I wish that's what it was," Faye replied. "I just…I had terrible back pain that kept me up all night."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jill said. "And she really was. "Maybe it will be better if you take painkillers."

"No, that won't help," Faye explained. "Cause it's not just normal pain."

Jill then gasped as Fay took off her shirt and then turned, showing her back, which had a pair of wings protruding from it. "How did I not notice you had those before?" Jill questioned. "Cause that's something you would notice. And…and why are they…frayed the end? Like they're starting to fall apart?"

"That's where all the pain came from, my wings starting to come apart," Faye replied. "It means that I've screwed up. Gone beyond my station as a fairy. That I've…" she gasped. " _Fallen in love_." She chuckled nervously. "But they couldn't be more wrong. I'm not in love! What do they know?"

"Are you not allowed to fall in love when you're a fairy or something?" Jill questioned.

"No, not really," Faye sighed. "Our lives are supposed to be more about service to our assigned family. We work our butts off for several years, then our boss sees what we've done and if she feels we've done enough, she lets us have a break and be set up with another fairy so that we can make more fairies and then after that happens, we just go back to work."

"Wow," Jill remarked. "That sounds so bureaucratic. I thought fairy life would be jollier than that, but I guess I've been reading too many books."

"Yeah," Faye nodded. "I guess." She sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do! If I was sensible, I would just leave Todd and go back to England with Junior when he leaves, but I can't do that. Not when Todd's just started opening up to me and trusting me. That just seems so _wrong_!"

"What will happen if you do that?" Jill wanted to know. "Is it just losing your wings?"

" _Just_?" Faye questioned. "I'm basically choosing to give up everything I know! I'm gonna become a pariah! It's not a choice to be taken lightly, but I think…I think Todd needs the help." She sighed. "There might be some hope if I told my boss that I asked Junior's permission to help Todd before I did it, but since, from an outsider's perspective, our associations seem like nothing more than a romantic entanglement, it probably won't work."

"Well, if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know, all right?" Jill encouraged.

"I don't know what you could do right off the top of my head, but if I think of something, I'll definitely let you know," Faye told her.

"Thanks a lot," Jill replied. "I'm glad to be there for you."

"No, _thank you_ ," Faye told her. "At least I have a friend when I'm going through all this. That's a pretty good thing."

"And I'm guessing you don't feel like telling Todd anything about this yet," Jill guessed. "Or at all."

"Well, he was staying with me last night and he heard me when I couldn't sleep," Faye said. "He asked me why and I lied about the reason. The guy's been through enough. I don't want him having this on his conscience too, because you know that's just how he'll feel if he knows."

"He's really _that_ sensitive?" Jill questioned. "I find that hard to believe."

"That's because he probably doesn't feel secure letting you all see under his gruff exterior," Faye replied. "But he let _me_. And I'm gonna show him that I value that. I think it's important for him to see."

"Good luck with that," Jill told her.

"Thank you," Faye replied. "I appreciate it."

* * *

"When you answer the question you can be honest cause I already know the answer," Todd said when he finally got up the nerve to bring up the subject. "When Junior leaves to go back to England, you're gonna go back with him, right? Cause of the whole fairy thing? No reason for you to stay here, is there?"

"At first I thought I would stay," Faye told him. "Then I realized that it's not that simple. I have to go back to England with Junior. I don't have any other choice."

Todd felt like he'd been punched in the gut. This wasn't the answer he'd been expecting, even though he'd told her otherwise. He'd expected her to hold his hand, kiss his cheek and say 'No, of course I won't leave you, Todd. Not when you've opened up to me and given me so much more than you've given any other person. I'm gonna repay that trust by staying here with you'. "You're really going back to England?" He got out. "But why?"

"It's a fairy thing," she said. "It's hard to explain. But it's nothing you did wrong, I swear."

"Oh, stop lying!" He spat. "Just admit that you came for the sex and now that you've gotten it, you feel you can go."

"No, that's not it at all!" Faye protested. "It's fairy business! I need to sort some things out before-"

"Shut up," Todd spat, his eyes narrowing as he glared at her. "Just go back to England with Junior and _never_ say another word to me."

* * *

"Okay, Mom, tell me honestly," Sam said to Selina as he and Roxie went with their mother to be presented at corporate before they began working at The Underground, whose rebuilding was coming along at record pace. "Is there anything bad that's going to happen at this meeting with the suit and tie types?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "Dorian just wants me to help you get integrated into his company. It's nothing scary, I promise."

Sam didn't want to doubt his mother, but as he turned his gaze back to Roxie, she reached out and took his hand. "I've got your back, don't worry. Whatever these demon-y types throw at us, we can get through it."

But of course when they stepped through the door, saw Jeannette, and she asked them about coffee, all their expectations were shattered.

"Who's that?" Sam asked. "Is she a demon?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "She's also my assistant/best demon friend. See? I told you didn't have anything to worry about."

"If more demons are like her then, you know, evil, I guess not," Roxie remarked.

* * *

Shortly after, when they went to meet Dorian in his office, he asked them, "What do you think of the place? The people? I know working for me and among demons will be a change so I want to make sure you're willing to go forward with the conversation before we actually do it."

"I think I'd be willing to take the job on," Roxie nodded.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "Me too." He chuckled. "It's funny: the second my girlfriend Leslie found out about your club, she asked me to ask you about getting a job there. What a coincidence, huh?"

"Yes," Dorian nodded. "How interesting."

They talked a little longer about what the details of both Roxie's manager job and Sam's in-house musician job would entail, and then he told them he would have the contracts ready for them to sign in a day or two so they would be official club employees. But before he left, Sam paused and looked Dorian in the eye.

"I want to say 'Thank you'," he told him. "Not only for this job, but also for saving my ass the other day when the bar blew up. That means a lot, cause you didn't have to do it, but you did."

"You're welcome," Dorian told him. "You have a lot to give the world, Sam. And it would have been a shame to see that all go to waste because you died needlessly in a fire. How's your dog? He means a lot to you, doesn't he?"

"Yes," Sam smiled. "And he's just great, thanks for asking."

"Good," Dorian nodded. "That's great to hear. Do you have any other questions, concerns, anything like that before you go?"

"No, I'm good, but there _is_ one more thing I'd like to say before I go," Sam told him.

"And what's that?" Dorian wanted to know.

"Thank you for taking care of my mother," Sam told him. "I appreciate it."

"It's my pleasure," Dorian assured him. "Don't worry about that."

* * *

"I'm so glad Roxie and Sam enjoyed the tour of the office and seemed to get along well with everyone," Dorian told Selina later in the day. "Do you think they'll enjoy working with me? No one had anything bad to say about them."

"Oh, I think they _will_ enjoy it," Selina smiled. "Hiring Jeannette was one of the best choices you ever made. She makes a wonderful first impression."

"Yep," Dorian nodded and ran a hand over her leg because she was sitting in his lap. "Would you mind standing up a second so I can go talk to Eric about something?"

"Sure," Selina nodded. "Arthur wants ice cream anyway."

"Arthur?" Dorian raised an eyebrow. "You've named the baby already?"

"It's not permanent, but it's an option," Selina smiled.

Dorian couldn't help but grin back. "I'll be in my office if you need anything. But since Eric and I will be talking, this will be one of the rare times I'll ask you to knock first."

Selina got ice cream from the freezer and went to read the comics. There was one that she thought Dorian would particularly enjoy, but when she went to tell him about it, she hesitated cause she remembered that Dorian was discussing important things with Eric Then she heard talking.

"I tell you, Eric…" Dorian said. "Between Selina and Sophia we found some wonderful women to start this new demon hybrid species with."

"Yeah," Eric replied. "We sure did."

Selina growled and stood in the hall next to the door until Dorian came out, and she promptly dumped the ice cream container right on his head, striding off as the chocolate stained his white shirt without so much as a word of explanation about why she was suddenly so mad at him when she'd been so happy with him before.

"You want to tell me just what it is that I've done wrong?" Dorian asked when he'd showered, changed clothes, and managed to get her to be in the same room with him without running off. "What did I do to deserve ice cream on my head?"

"You're lucky that's all it was," Selina cried. "I thought you were different, but you're really just as scummy as all the other men I've dated." She began taking clothes out of closets and drawers. "Or maybe you're worse cause you're a damn good actor!"

"Actor?" Dorian asked. "What are you talking about?"

Selina looked up. Her demon face was showing and her teeth were bared. "I was told my whole human life that the only thing worthwhile about me was my uterus and apparently you think that too because you're using me to create a stupid new demon species! Well, I won't be used like that! I won't! And if Sophia has any sense, neither will she!"

"Let me explain about that, please?" Dorian begged. He hadn't meant her to overhear it cause he knew she'd take it the wrong way. "It's not what you think!"

"Yeah, sure," Selina scoffed, doing the best she could to pull off the bracelet, even though it wouldn't budge. "There's one I've never heard before."

"All right," Dorian nodded as he sighed and gave himself a mental slap. "I see you're upset and you have every right to be. What I said was thoughtless and insensitive and it shouldn't have come out of my mouth."

"Well, I should hope you feel that way," Selina nodded. "Now, I want to assure you that I'm not so foolish that I would throw everything we have away over you putting your foot in your mouth one time. I know in my heart that what you said doesn't accurately reflect how you feel about me, so I'm just gonna step away and go stay with Mama and Uncle Andrew for a bit before I say or do something I'll regret later and once I've had time to cool down, we can move on, okay?"

"Yes," Dorian sighed. "I suppose that's the only thing we can do." He paused. "I'm truly sorry about what I said. Please don't get rid of your bracelet. Please. I love you."

"I love you too," Selina nodded. "And that's why what you said hurt so much." She then went up to pack and Dorian was left to go lock himself in his office and muse about whether or not he should cut out his tongue so he would never say another foolish thing again.


	68. What You Mean To Me

"So, yet another fight between you and Dorian?" Amelia sighed. "I'm gonna try to be understanding here, but what in the heck is wrong with you? He's a wonderful man! Why are you being so nitpicky?"

"He said that he wanted to be with me in order to make a new hybrid demon species, Mama!" Selina snapped. "I overheard him and it was just…I didn't like what I heard, okay? It was like when I was fourteen and you made me go that party Louisa Forbes threw where stupid James McIntyre was telling everyone he was gonna marry me, take all my money, get me pregnant, and then leave me at home with his annoying mother while he went on all sorts of adventures. I'm worth more than that! I deserve better!"

"Better?" Amelia shook her. "What better is there? Dorian is the best you're ever gonna get! Stop getting so worked up over locker room chatter that probably didn't mean anything at all! You go back home and let him apologize."

"No," Selina crossed her arms. "He wronged me and I will leave when I'm good and ready!" She huffed and crossed her arms, then Amelia rolled her eyes and strode off to find Andrew and see if he could talk some sense into his niece.

"She said that she's just gonna stay here?" Andrew asked in shock when she told him. "Has she lost her mind?"

"She's stubborn," Amelia replied. "She's used to having everything be her own way and on her own terms and in situations like this, when she feels she's giving up control to someone else, it makes her turn balky and difficult."

"Hmmm…" Andrew grinned. "I wonder where she got that from?"

Amelia narrowed her eyes. "Now isn't the time to point fingers, Andrew! We have to save her from herself!"

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Andrew wanted to know. "If we just kick her out and tell her to go back to Dorian, you know that won't go well."

"Well, we'll just have to be a little more subtle," Amelia replied. "Got any ideas?"

"I might," Andrew nodded. "Just bear with me."

* * *

Before they implemented Andrew's plan, they tried one last time to make Selina go on her own: they brought in the big guns. If her father couldn't convince her to leave, they'd have to play hardball.

"Tell me again why it is you don't want to go back and be with Dorian?" Matthew asked as they both sat on Selina's bed and he ran his fingers through her hair. "Because I'm really struggling to see the problem."

"Why is it so hard for everyone to accept that I don't want to get on my hands and knees and crawl back to the guy who said himself that he sees me as nothing more than a walking uterus?" Selina asked. "Why do you always have to side with him?" She moved out of the way of Matthew's fingers and flopped on the bed. "You're a guy, so you wouldn't understand."

"Maybe not specifically," Matthew conceded. "But I think you're letting yourself get so worked up over this that you're not thinking clearly."

"Oh?" Selina sat up. "What makes you think that?"

"Think about your relationship prior to his mistake," Matthew told her. "Was it good? Did he pay attention to you? Did he make you feel valued as a person?"

"Well, yeah," Selina nodded. "But-"

"But what?" Matthew asked. "If he truly was just about your uterus, do you think he would have put so much effort into caring about you?"

"That's just how devious he is!" Selina cried. "That's how he tricked me and drew me in."

Matthew rolled his eyes and sighed, shaking his head at his unbelievably stubborn daughter. "What will it take to get you to see reason?" He asked.

"Well, if he wanted to prove that he loved me, he would, right?" Selina asked. "I don't see why I have to do all the work."

Matthew left and reported this to Amelia and Andrew.

"She wants him to prove it?" Amelia asked. "She wants him to get down on his knees and beg and stuff? I really wonder how this'll turn out. I hope she isn't disappointed."

"I hope she's not either," Matthew smiled. "Won't it be amusing to see the look on our daughter's face when she's proven wrong and Dorian really _is_ so dedicated to her that he'll do whatever he has to in order to prove it? I think that'll be fun."

"Who wants to call him and tell him about this?" Amelia questioned.

"I will," Andrew volunteered, really enjoying running this whole situation. "Leave it to me."

* * *

"Would you look at this?" Andrew exclaimed as he opened the door and brought in yet another bouquet of roses to Selina, who was sitting on the sofa. "Isn't Dorian nice to send you all these things?"

"Yes, I suppose," Selina conceded, putting down the box of chocolates she was consuming that were _also_ from him to read the apology note that came with the flowers. "Well, this is a good sign," she said. "This note seems as sincere as the rest of them."

Amelia looked around at all the balloons, flowers, cookie bouquets, and other tokens Dorian had sent. "How long are you going to make him beg like this? I think he's gone above and beyond what you want of him. Most men's pride wouldn't stand this level of debasement and would probably have given up on you by now."

"Oh, I suppose," Selina nodded. "You have a point. And maybe he doesn't see it as debasement. Maybe he just likes buying me stuff."

"I think it's a bad habit to let this go on for so long," Andrew told her. "If you've decided that you forgive him, you should tell him."

"I will," Selina nodded. "I just need to do some errands first."

* * *

One of Selina's errands was to run to the gym and work out the best she could (she was taking a workout class for pregnant women and spending some time in the pool), and when she returned after that, she decided she wanted to take a bath (the showers at the gym had all been occupied). She stripped off her clothes, put on a towel, and walked into the bathroom, letting out a shriek when she saw that the bathtub was already occupied. By Dorian.

"I hope don't mind," he said with a smile. "Your father called and said you were ready for me to come and mend fences so I thought I would make myself look presentable before we did that. But if you need to use the bath now, I don't mind sharing."

"Well, how long have you been in there?" Selina questioned. "Is the water cold?"

"No, I haven't been in here long at all," Dorian assured her. "Should I scoot over and make room for you?"

"Sure," Selina nodded, dropping the towel and letting him help her into the tub. "Why not?"

"Good," Dorian smiled. "We'll probably talk better like this anyway." He pushed some of her hair out of her eyes and asked, "How are you?"

"Not bad," Selina told him. "Thank you for asking. And also…thank you for, you know, doing all that you did to show that you were committed. All those nice little notes that came with your presents. I could tell you meant every word."

"Oh, I do," Dorian assured her. "I also promise that it's you as a whole person, not just your uterus that means something to me. I don't know how else to convince you, though."

"You don't have to do anymore," Selina sighed and kissed his cheek. "What I didn't think about when I was mad was that if you really thought of me as just an incubator, you wouldn't want so much close contact with me, would you? You would have just stuck me somewhere and only come to see me when it was time for us to have sex. That's how this one guy who was thinking of marrying me framed our entire future relationship. But there's a big difference between that and what we have and I guess I just let myself get so worked up and offended that I forgot."

"Well, it's good you remember now because I really missed you," he told her. Then he whispered, "I'm terrible at sleeping alone."

"Me too," Selina smiled. "We should help each other with that."

"I agree," Dorian nodded. "But before we do, I want to make sure you know how much I love you. You know that, right? Please tell me you know that."

"I do," Selina nodded. "And I promise I won't let one poorly worded remark ruin everything we've built. I won't punish you for that when you really seem to be sorry."

"Good," Dorian nodded and hugged her. "Thank you." Then he got a wash cloth wet and said, "Would you like some help getting cleaned up?"

"Yeah," Selina smiled as he began washing her back and neck. "I sure would!"

* * *

Later, after Dorian left to fix things up and prepare the house for her moving in again, she was surprised to answer a knock on the door and find Elijah on the other side with Lily.

"Hi," she said, the surprise obvious in her voice. "What can I do for you? Would you like to come in? What can I get you to drink?"

"May I please have some chocolate milk?" Lily questioned, her eyes flicking downward toward Selina's belly and watching it intently.

"Sweetheart, let's just sit down on the couch, okay?" Elijah told her. "You ate before we came. You don't need chocolate milk."

"Yes I do," Lily nodded vigorously. "She asked what I wanted to drink and I want chocolate milk!"

"If you're thinking it'll be too much work for me, you don't have to worry," Selina assured Elijah. "I'll be back with it in a jiffy."

Once she was gone, Lily said, "Did you know that she has a demon baby in her belly? I don't like it." She made a face.

"Why would her child matter to you?" Elijah questioned. "It's not like you're going to have to live with it or anything."

"I don't know," Lily shrugged. "I just don't like it. It's a boy!"

"Do you not like me either?" Elijah asked. "I'm a boy."

"You're not a boy!" Lily shook her head. "You're my daddy!"

"Oh," Elijah nodded. "There's some sort of difference. I see."

When Selina returned and Lily was happily drinking her chocolate milk, Elijah cleared his throat and said, "I bet you're wondering why I'm here," he told Selina. "I bet you expected never to see me again."

"Well, I thought I wouldn't," Selina nodded. "But I'm glad you're here now, cause I really hope that despite how things ended between us, now that we've both moved on, we can be friends."

"You know, that's what I want too!" Elijah agreed. "I'm sorry for all I put you through before. I should have trusted you to know your own limits, cause you do. Now that I'm not so close to the situation, I see that you have a much better idea of what your limits are when it comes to blood consumption than I thought and how I did things, how I managed your diet…I just made it worse for you, didn't I?"

"It wasn't ideal," Selina agreed. "But I went with it because it wasn't terrible and I wanted to make you happy."

"Can I ask why you wanted so bad to please me?" Elijah wanted to know.

"Cause I was scared," Selina replied. "You were one of the first people to want to take care of me and give me a home and a family and security in a long time. And the thought of being thrown out because I messed up somehow and had to make my own way again…I couldn't handle that. So I made what little sacrifices I thought I needed to in order to maintain a sense of belonging. I'm not ashamed of it. I'm not gonna apologize. I just think that we finally reached the point where I was ready to take the training wheels off, so to speak, and that it was time for us to be friends rather than be married. Nothing we should feel bad about. Just a fact of life."

"I agree," Elijah nodded and stuck out his hand. "I'm so glad you feel the same way. And…I'm really sorry about what my father did to you."

"Thank you," Selina told him and let him give her a hug. "Thank you very much."

Then they both looked at Lily, who had just finished her large glass of chocolate milk and was trying to get the last bit up the straw. Then she handed the glass to her father, smiled, and said, "May I have some more, please?"

* * *

"Todd?" Percy poked at his brother who sat by the phone, staring at it and staring at it. He came around and reached for the handset of the landline phone and the second he put his hand around it, Todd growled and grabbed his wrist, squeezing so hard that Percy winced. "Don't you fucking dare," he whispered. "Don't you come near me while I'm waiting for the phone to ring. You mess this up and I will kill you!"

"Mess up what?" Percy asked, swallowing nervously. "What call are you expecting? You've been sitting there all day and we want to call for pizza."

"Why do you need to use this phone?" Todd growled. "Use another damn phone. Faye is gonna call me before she heads back to England."

"I think she's gone by now," Percy replied. "And didn't you tell her not to talk to you ever again?"

"I did, but she's not known for listening to a word I say," Todd pointed out. "She could still call. You don't know!"

"How are things going in here?" Jill poked her head in.

"Not well," Percy told her. "He won't let me order the pizza because Faye _might_ call and if we order pizza, he _could_ miss it. Even though I think if she was going to call, she would have done it by now."

"All right, Percy, I don't think you're helping," Jill told him. "Why don't you go in the living room and let me deal with this?"

"If you think you can," Percy nodded. "Good luck."

He left and Todd scoffed. "What the hell is his problem? So I'm waiting for a phone call. I'm trying to forge a personal connection. Isn't that what you all are telling me I should do? And thanks for sending Percy out. If he would have said anything else, I would have killed him."

"You keep sitting here and staring at the phone like an idiot and I'm gonna kill _you_ ," Jill told him. "You've done some dumb things in your life but just letting Faye run off like that is the dumbest one."

"She said she had to go do fairy stuff," Todd reminded her. "And it sounded like something she couldn't hold off, not even for me. So I'm letting her go, since that's what she wants."

"Just because, at this point in time, she has to go back to England and do fairy business, she's not saying she wants to throw your whole relationship away," Jill cried. "You just have to have a little patience! Don't put her in the middle like you're doing and make her choose between you and her admittedly tough life. From the way fairies operate, I'm sure she'd much rather be with you, as crabby and unpleasant as you can be sometimes. Now, she just called me and told me that things have been delayed so she and Junior are going to be in town for a little while longer before they head back to Europe. I want you to go and tell her that just because she has to leave now, that doesn't mean you'll give up on the relationship. Assure her of that. It would make her happy."

"And what will you do if I don't go?" Todd questioned, standing up. He was stocky and somewhat taller than Jill, so it was kind of intimidating to see him towering over her, but she managed to hold her ground.

"If you don't go, I will drag you there myself," she said. "And I don't think either of us wants that. I'll even come with you if you're too nervous to talk to Faye alone."

"Why does it matter to you so much that Faye and I stay together?" Todd questioned. "Why are you making it your business?"

"Cause if I don't, you'll throw away the best thing that's happened to you in your whole life and I don't want to see that," Jill cried as Todd opened his mouth to protest, but no words came out as she hurried on. "And I can't believe you do!" She scoffed at him and took charge of the phone then, finally ordering the pizza as Todd glared at her and stomped away to his room, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

A few nights later, a restless Klaus shook AnnaLynne awake. "I can't sleep," he told her. "Can you?"

"I was doing all right," she huffed. "Why did you wake me? Do you want sex?"

"Well, yes, always, but if you're not in the mood, we can do something else to lull me to sleep instead," Klaus told her. "What about the motorcycle? Wanna go for a ride?"

"Won't we wake people up?" AnnaLynne asked.

"Who cares?" Klaus shrugged.

But as AnnaLynne quickly discovered, that worry was unfounded. As they drove along the road, they saw several people sitting on the curbs in their pajamas and bare feet, looking like they hadn't slept. "Are you all right?" She asked one of them. "What are you doing up? Why don't you go back to sleep?"

"I can't," said the woman. She pulled her knees up to her chest and began rocking back and forth. "Too many nightmares. Blue demons. Blue demons." Then she let out a shriek.

"Blue demons?" Klaus asked. "Why would they be terrorizing people?"

"I don't know," AnnaLynne replied. "But I want to find out."

They drove around for a little while longer, then realized that it was doing nothing to make them sleepy, so they headed back home and spent the night up and chatting about the blue demons instead.

"I thought you were all here in peace and would only start trouble if someone started trouble with you," Klaus said. "That's the plan, right?"

"Yeah, but Blue Ones are the most likely to deviate from that," AnnaLynne replied. "You wouldn't think it to look at them cause they seem just brainy and quiet, but they can be damn devious if they want to be."

"You have to tell your father about this," Klaus said. "I assume he won't want a group of demons being out and about and ruining everything. He needs to have a chance to come up with some way to deal with them before things get too bad."

"Yeah," AnnaLynne agreed. "Like a boot camp or a reform school or something. I'll go see him tomorrow and talk about it. Cause I think it's something he'll definitely want to be made aware of." She smiled. "Look at you, being interested in the fate of the demon world. "Who'd have thought it?"

"Not me before now," Klaus remarked as he kissed AnnaLynne's hand and then her lips. "That's for sure. But I've trained vampires before. Maybe it's about time I had a new challenge. This boot camp thing could be just what I need to give myself some direction."

"Good," AnnaLynne said. "Now we just need to talk to Daddy about it. And maybe Eric. If it ends working out, we're gonna need the gym…" she grabbed a pencil and paper and began making notes. Klaus watched her for a little bit, then kissed her hair and went to bed, leaving her alone with her plans in the kitchen.


	69. So Many Things To Look Forward To

"I can't believe you're just gonna leave and go to Europe without Ellie and me, you coward!" Sarah cried as she and Eleanor followed Junior and his suitcases to the door. It wasn't long until he had to be at the airport with Faye in order to make check in and he was getting rushed. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I asked you if you and Ellie wanted to come with me, but you said 'no'!" Junior reminded her. "So it's not my fault I'm leaving you behind."

"This whole damn doctor thing was just a way for you to run away from your responsibilities in the first place," Sarah reminded him. "Now you have to quit." She held Ellie up. "Are you just going to leave her?"

"No, I'm not," Junior replied as he cuddled his daughter. " _You_ are another story. But I wouldn't leave my Ellie."

"Fine," Sarah replied. "You wanna be free of me? You can be! We're done! You go to England, but don't think about worming your way into a relationship with me again."

"Can I take Ellie too?" Junior questioned.

"No, you can't!" Sarah shook her head. "You can come and see her as long as I'm in the same room, but you're not taking her away from me!"

"All right," Junior nodded as he watched her clutch Ellie protectively and watch him without blinking. "I'm really sorry it had to end this way, Sarah. Maybe when you're thinking more clearly, we can have another calmer conversation that won't mean the end to everything we've had."

"No, I don't think that will happen as long as you want to leave," Sarah replied. "You made your choice and if you're not gonna change your mind, just go. Please."

Junior made his way to the door, but paused with his hand on the knob when he heard the whimpering. He turned around and saw Ellie reaching out for him. He wanted to hold onto her so badly, but instead turned away, shaking his head. She couldn't have bonded with him that much in such a short time. She wouldn't miss him, he tried to comfort himself. And when he was gone, it would probably have no effect on her life whatsoever.

* * *

"Faye is at the airport," Jill told Todd, who was sitting on the living room couch and staring out the the window. "Don't you want to say 'Goodbye' to her before she goes back to England?"

"I don't know," Todd replied. "She probably doesn't want to see me. If she did, she wouldn't be leaving in the first place.

"Oh, that's bullshit and you know it, Todd!" Jill scoffed at him and pulled him to his feet. "Now get your butt moving to the car so we can go to the airport. March!"

Todd just looked at her in shock. He wasn't used to someone pushing him like this. Usually they got so scared that they backed off, or they just gave up after a little while and let him be. But since Jill was clearly not gonna step aside, he went and got in her car, driving to the airport, and going to meet Faye, who was sitting next to Junior in the airport terminal. Junior was asleep, his body spread out over three seats, but Faye was wide awake, her eyes lighting up as she came to hug him.

"I'm so glad you came," she said, giving him a quick kiss as she let him go. "Things ended badly the last time we spoke and I didn't want to leave knowing that you felt that way. I'm not doing this because I hate you. I'm really not. I just…I need to sort things out and if you're willing to wait for me, I'll come back. Cause really, you're the better choice if I had to pick between you and fairy duty for the rest of my life."

"Wow," Todd sucked in a breath. "Fairy life must really suck."

"Yeah," Faye nodded. "You're not kidding."

Jill then shook Junior awake as his and Faye's flight number was called over the loudspeaker.

"Well, it seems like you have to go," Todd told her. "I'll…I'll really miss you."

Faye smiled. "I'll miss you too. But you'll wait for me?"

"You mean you plan on coming back?" Todd asked in surprise. "To an ill-tempered curmudgeon like me?"

"You remember what I told you fairy life is like, right?" Faye said. "I want out of it. I want to spend my life with you instead."

"Wow," Todd scoffed. "Fairy life must be _really_ bad if I look that good in comparison."

"Why do you keep talking about yourself like that?" Faye asked. "You're not bad like you think you are. Sure, you're a little rough around the edges, but that's nothing to be ashamed of. If you don't wanna be like that anymore, we can work on it. Or you can just stay how you are. I don't care."

"Honestly, how likely is it that you'll just be able to quit and come back?" Todd questioned, taking Faye's hand and kissing it.

"I don't know," she smiled. "It might be a while. But know that if it is, it's because I'm fighting tooth and nail to come back and they're making it difficult for me. It's not because I've changed my mind and am just abandoning you. Will you remember that, please?"

"Yes," Todd nodded. "I'll try to."

They kissed each other and then Faye and Junior's flight number was called over the loudspeaker.

"I guess the delay wasn't as long as they thought it would be," Faye remarked. "Goodbye, Todd."

"Goodbye, Faye," Todd replied, giving her the sliver of a smile that only she was allowed to see.

"Goodbye," Faye smiled. "Be good! Wait for me. Cause I _will_ come back! Remember that!"

"I'll really try," Todd promised. "I swear." He then waved goodbye as Faye turned and ran after Junior to the airplane, disappearing from his sight.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Jill asked and put a hand on his shoulder. "You can tell me the truth. I won't make fun of you, I promise."

"I'm gonna miss her," Todd confessed. "But I think…I think if I just remember that she's going to come back, it'll get easier."

"Of course it will," Jill assured him. "You wanna go eat something? I'm a little hungry."

"Yeah," Todd nodded. "I like that idea, Let's do it."

* * *

"Oh, this'll be fun!" Eric cried, his voice full of excitement as he and Sophia waited at the doctor's. "Time to see what sort of baby we're having! I bet it'll be a boy like me!"

"Yeah, I bet," Sophia nodded from the exam table. "This whole pregnancy has been annoying enough as it is. A boy would do that. Especially one like you."

The technician arrived and rubbed the jelly and scanner over Sophia's belly, her eyes widening. "Oh, my god," she said. "It's unbelievable."

"What is?" Sophia asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No," The technician replied. "Just remarkable. You're having twin boys. Both of them still live!"

"What?" Eric's jaw dropped. "Twins? Living twins?" He grinned. "How fertile am I!" He began to dance around.

"Can I ask why it's weird that I'm carrying living twins?" Sophia questioned. "I'm a bit new to demon stuff."

"Most demon twin pairs don't make it out together," Eric explained. "One usually kills the other before birth. That's typical."

"What the hell?" Sophia questioned, feeling horrified. "So should we be preparing for one son or two?"

"Well, actually, I would prepare for two," the technician told her. "It seems like they're comfortable enough with each other that they made it past the hostile phase. I think they're both gonna make it."

"That's good," Sophia nodded. "Great. Other than the fact that having _three_ demon boys vying for my attention might be incredibly trying, I think I'm looking forward to this."

"Of course you are," Eric smiled. "What could be better than one of me? How about three of me?"

"You don't know they're gonna be like you," Sophia reminded him. "They could be like me."

"True," Eric conceded. "That's a possibility."

They made it through the rest of the checkup and then went back to the apartment and let themselves in.

"Hello?" Eric called. "Dad? Selina? We're back from the appointment! And we have some really good news!"

They were met with silence, so Sophia shrugged and said, "Maybe they went out. We can tell them later."

Eric got her some water and they sat on the sofa watching television. Then they heard a noise. Eric tensed up and got to his feet. "It might be a burglar," he told Sophia. "Don't move!" He waited to see what the alleged intruder would do next, but groaned when he realized it was just Selina and his father, running to the kitchen, then pausing so he could pick her up and take her against the wall. Since his back was to them, Dorian didn't notice his son and Sophia until Eric cleared his throat.

"Dad, do you mind doing that in private?" He asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Dorian replied, letting Selina down and having the grace to look ashamed. "We had no idea you were back yet."

"I told you we should have worn bathrobes just in case," Selina reminded him. They went and got covered up, then joined Eric and Sophia on the sofa.

"So…" Dorian began. "How was the appointment? What are you expecting?"

"Twin boys," Eric told him, that smug grin that made Sophia want to punch him in the face returning. "The technician told us we don't have to worry about losing one cause they made it past 'the hostile stage'."

"And how do you feel about that, Sophia?" Selina asked. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah," Sophia nodded. "I think once I get used to the idea, it'll be fine. It's still a bit new to me, though."

Selina then put a hand on her stomach. "It sounds like I should be glad that I'm only having one to start out with," she said. "Although, three of my kids with Elijah are triplets, and I've had a set of twins too, so it's not like I'm a stranger to multiple births."

"I'm happy for you," Dorian told them. "Really, really happy." Then he turned his attention to Sophia. "Have you told your parents yet, or am I the first to know?"

"No, you and Selina are first," Sophia told him. "I don't know how I'm gonna tell Mom and Dad. Maybe I should do it in person. That might be better if one of them has a heart attack."

"Or you won't have to tell them at all," Eric reminded her. "If your mom's psychic powers told her and your dad that you were pregnant, maybe she already knows how many you're having."

And this statement was proven true a few minutes later when Jill called her daughter and said, "You're having twins? Your father and I are so excited for you! Are you excited? I'm so glad to hear this now after dealing with your uncle Todd, who's depressed cause a girl he liked left the country."

"What?" Sophia asked in shock. "Uncle Todd liked someone?"

"Yeah," Jill said. "And the shocking part for him was that she liked him too."

"Well, then why did she leave?" Sophia asked.

"She's a fairy," Jill explained."And she can't be with Todd unless she gives all that up, so she's gonna do that and then she'll come back."

"Wow," Sophia's eyes widened. "I thought my news was surprising, but I think you topped me." She paused. "Do you think he's gonna be all right?"

"I hope so," Jill replied. "Your dad told me I could go be at home for a bit if he needs me, and I just might do that."

"I hope things work out," Sophia said. "How does Daddy feel about me having twins?"

"He's a little nervous cause apparently, demon twin pregnancies are difficult, but as I said, excited too," Jill assured her. "Let us know if you need anything, and don't be a stranger."

"All right," Sophia promised. "I won't." She ended the call and Eric came and put his arms around her. "So they know and they're happy?" He asked.

"Yep," Sophia nodded and put her head on his shoulder. "They know and they're happy."

* * *

"Hi, Lily," Amy said after knocking on her daughter's door. "What are you doing?"

"Drawing," Lily replied. She was sitting at her desk with crayons and paper and drawing something that Amy couldn't see.

"What are you drawing there?" Amy asked and then gasped when she saw the picture of what seemed to be Lily standing triumphantly over a boy with dark brown hair and blue eyes who had a sword in his chest. "Oh, my god! Lily, that's horrible! Why would you draw something like that?"

"That's Arthur," Lily informed her, pointing to the boy who had x's for his eyes. "Selina and Dorian's kid. I killed him because he's a pain in my ass!"

"Don't use that language," Amy said firmly. "You just keep doing what you're doing. Selina is visiting now and I was gonna have you show her your art, but I think that a picture of you killing her child would just distress her."

"Why?" Lily questioned. "Shouldn't she know that her son will be a very bad boy?"

"I don't think it's our place to tell her," Amy remarked. "Maybe that's something she should find out for herself." She paused. "And how do you know what Selina's son will be named and that he'll be bad?"

"I saw it in my head," Lily explained. "We can do that."

"Ah," Amy nodded. "Telling the future is a demon thing. That's good to know. Some witches can do that too."

"Can you?" Lily questioned.

"I can't," Amy shook her head. "But it's interesting to know that you can." She then left Lily to continue drawing and ran into Elijah in the hallway. "I found Lily drawing horrible pictures of a boy she says is Selina and Dorian's son. She says he's going to be very bad. Why would she do that?"

"I don't know," Elijah shrugged. "Ever since she first saw that Selina was pregnant and told her that she was gonna have a demon baby, Lily's been very hostile about it. I can't imagine why. It's not like it will affect her."

"Apparently, she thinks it will," Amy sighed. "The picture was horrifying when I saw it. It made me ill."

"Well, look on the bright side," Elijah said and put a hand on her shoulder. "At least all that hostile energy isn't directed at us."

"Yeah," Amy conceded as they headed back to the living room, vowing not to say a word to Selina about Lily's drawings. "I guess that _is_ a good thing."

* * *

That night, after Elijah had read Lily her bedtime story and as he tucked her in, he remarked, "Your mother told me about the pictures you drew of Selina and Dorian's son. Would you like to talk about that?"

"No," Lily shook her head. "He's just gonna be a bad boy!" She then growled. "I need to get big and strong so I can beat him up!" She made a few punches in the air and Elijah told her, "Well, it's not too long before that will happen, I don't think."

"Really?" Lily asked. "Well, good!"

"Yes," Elijah nodded and kissed her forehead. "You'll fall asleep one day and a cocoon will be made around you. And when you come out of that cocoon, you'll be a big girl. A beautiful young woman. Did you know that? Did your other mother and father talk to you about it?"

"No," Lily shook her head. "Not really." She pulled the covers up to her chin, and asked Elijah, who'd gone to turn off the light, "Do you really think I'm gonna be pretty?"

"And smart," Elijah nodded. "And strong. You'll be all those things. Even more than you are now. I just know it. Now, it's time for you to go to sleep, all right?"

"Okay," Lily nodded and pulled the blankets up to her chin. "Goodnight, Daddy."

Elijah grinned as he flicked the switch. "Goodnight, Lily, darling. I love you."

"Yeah," Lily nodded, her eyes closing. "I love you too."


	70. A Fool For Love

"So what do you think of the fact that you're gonna have two grandsons?" Selina asked Dorian as she pulled off the t-shirt she was wearing and went to join a naked Dorian in bed. "Are you excited?"

"Well, of course I'm excited," Dorian grinned and patted Selina's stomach as she put her arms around him and kissed him.

"Are you jealous?" Selina smiled. "That Eric fathered two babies at once and I'm only having one?"

"No," Dorian shook his head. "I think one at a time is good enough if we can help it." He kissed her lightly on the lips, then slowly ran his hands all over her warm body before bending his head down with a grin on his lips and kissing her inner thighs as she moaned. "Cause we have lots of time to have children. I assume that after we have Arthur, it won't be impossible for us to have another."

She nodded, her eyes bright, and reached up to put a hand in his for a moment, then brought his hand down to kiss it before running a hand through his dark hair. She then arched her back, bringing herself up a little so he had enough room to reach under her and cup her bottom as her legs parted and he buried himself inside her over and again as she threw her arms over her head and gripped the pillow, his name escaping from her lips as she climaxed.

* * *

The following morning, Eric woke up and looked at Sophia, who slept naked beside him. He ran a hand over her belly, smiled, and shook his head. He then got dressed and went to knock on his father's bedroom door. He needed to ask him a question. A very important one, otherwise he wouldn't have said a word, cause it's not always easy to talk to your parents about your love life.

He stood in front of his father's bedroom door, knocking quietly, and opening it a smidge. "Dad?" He whispered. "Dad, are you awake?"

"Now I am," Dorian replied as Eric shielded his eyes in case his father was naked when he got out of bed. "What is it that you need this early in the morning? Is something troubling you?"

Eric avoided his father's eyes, looking down at his bare feet as he muttered, "You know I'm glad that you and Selina are back together. I…I'm kind of worried that Sophia might leave me like Selina did you if I don't do better by her. She hasn't _said_ anything about feeling bad that I'm just treating her like an incubator, which is really shocking, to be totally honest, but…I don't want it to get to the point where she finally comes to her senses and does. Help me stop it from happening. Please."

"All right," Dorian replied and then left the bedroom, shutting the door softly behind him and then leading Eric to the kitchen. "What sort of help do you think you need?"

"Well," Eric swallowed. "It's obvious to anyone with eyes that you and Selina love each other, right? I look at you both and it's right there in front of me."

"It's true," Dorian nodded. "And I'm sorry if you feel it's too much in your face. We'll try and be more subtle about it from now on."

"No, you don't need to do that," Eric told him. He then drummed his hands on the table, struggling to find the words to express what he wanted to say next. He opened his mouth, and then groaned and got up to get himself a drink instead of speaking. He was close to chickening out.

When he returned, Dorian said, "What is it that you're trying to say, Eric. I can't help you if you won't tell me."

"I already told you once," Eric replied irritably. "That took all I had in me. I don't know if I can repeat it."

"Well, I was only half-awake when you were talking so I don't know how much of it I understood," Dorian informed him. "Sorry about that."

Eric groaned. Though part of him figured that his father was telling the truth, he couldn't repress the smaller part that said Dorian was making him repeat his confession on purpose just to drive him crazy. "All right, I'll repeat it again," he said. "But you have to be paying attention this time, and since I'm opening up to you and that's hard for me, you have to promise not to laugh."

"Oh, Eric, why would I laugh at you?" Dorian asked. "I wouldn't. Go ahead and say what you need to say. I'm listening."

Eric took a deep breath and all the words came spilling out of him in a rush before he lost his nerve and closed up. "I don't know how to be all suave and romantic with women like you are," he said. "I don't know how to be with Sophia, I…" He trailed off when he saw Dorian was smirking and putting a hand over his mouth to try and hide it. "Hey!" He cried and stood up, his hands balling into fists and his dark eyes flashing. "You promised that if I talked about this with you, you wouldn't laugh."

"Oh, I'm not laughing at what you're saying," Dorian tried to reassure him. "It's just that, when you got dressed, you didn't brush your hair and it sticks up everywhere in the morning, you know. It's very humorous."

"I don't believe that that's what you're laughing about," Eric told him and tried to smooth out the mess that was his uncombed bedhead with only partial success. He finally gave up and just sat back down in his chair. "But I'm gonna let it go because I'm serious about wanting help with this Sophia relationship business. I don't want her to think she's just an incubator for my children like Selina thought she was for yours. Cause that wasn't good, was it?"

"No, it wasn't," Dorian nodded. "But that was more my own bad phrasing of the situation, plus Selina's life experience of frequently being told that she's nothing but an incubator for a man's child that made her more sensitive to that sort of thing. I doubt Sophia has had that same sort of life experience, so you don't have to be worried about it, I don't think." He paused. "I didn't realize how much I really loved her though until she left and I thought she wasn't going to come back. Life's funny that way." He then thought a moment before locking eyes with Eric. "So what you basically want is for me to teach you how to romance Sophia so what you have actually lasts. Is that it?"

"Yeah," Eric nodded. "You think you can help me with that? Or am I a lost cause?"

"Of course you're not a lost cause!" Dorian told him. "It might take a little work, but…we could get you in shape. Don't worry about it. In fact, why don't you start today? Right now?"

"Woah, just a minute now!" Eric threw his hands up. "Don't start me off with anything too difficult, all right? Remember, I'm new at this."

"Oh, it's nothing too complicated," Dorian told him. "I promise."

"All right," Eric nodded. "What do you want me to do?"

* * *

A few hours later, Sophia woke up and found Eric standing next to her side of the bed. "Hello," she said. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Eric replied, holding a shaking tray in his hands, which then fell and the orange juice that had rested in one of the corners soaked all the covers. "Oh, shit! I'm sorry!"

"It's okay!" Sophia replied and cleaned up with her magic. "What was on that tray? Were you bringing me breakfast?"

"I…I guess," Eric nodded. "If you like an apple, a lump of cheese, a glass of orange juice, and burnt toast." He winced. "Sorry. I'm not much of a cook. And I think we need to go grocery shopping."

"It's okay," Sophia assured him. "We can do that. Let's go together. I'm always hungry anyway."

"Yeah," Eric smiled. "You sure are." Then he blushed cause he remembered that wasn't something you were supposed to say about a woman. "Pretend I didn't say that, okay?"

"Okay," Sophia asked, kind of confused. "Thanks for breakfast. Are you okay? You seem uncomfortable."

"Oh, I…no, I'm…you know what? You enjoy that. I'm just gonna go…somewhere else," Eric told her, facing away from her so she couldn't see his flushed cheeks. He then strode out of the room, leaving a very intrigued Sophia alone with her thoughts about what was going on with him and her breakfast.

* * *

When she finally emerged from her bedroom, showered and dressed, Eric approached her with a box in hand. He held it out to her with a grin on his face and when she took it, a little white dog popped out.

"Oh, wow," she said. "What a cute little dog!" Then, she began to sneeze and cough, and her eyes became watery.

"What's going on?" Eric asked in a panic because his present _would_ make her sick. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Sophia sniffled. "I'm allergic to dogs, I guess."

"Sorry," Eric apologized, "I'll take him back."

"No, you can't just take him back!" Sophia cried. "You got his little hopes up. You can't dump him now. That would be cruel!"

"But what about your allergies?" Eric asked. "I don't want you getting sick every time the dog is around you!"

"That's what allergy medicine is for." Sophia replied. "I'll just take some pills and then everything will be okay."

"All right," Eric nodded, still feeling a little guilty. "If you're sure."

Then, he took her for a picnic and they got lost on the way.

"Do you even know where we are?" Sophia questioned. "Why don't we stop and ask someone for directions back home?"

"No, we don't need to go back home," Eric shook his head. "I know exactly where we're going and I have this romantic lunch planned and I'm not just giving up on it."

Sophia rolled her eyes and just let him go because it was clear that he wouldn't be swayed from his goal. About an hour later, they finally found the picnic site, but as soon as they sat down at a table, it began to rain.

"Shit!" Sophia cried as she watched all the food get soggy and her clothes get soaked. "We can't eat when it's like this out!"

"No," Eric growled as he grabbed her and tried to shield her from the rain while he hustled her back to the car before retrieving the basket of food and throwing it back in the trunk. "Well, that was a wash. And I swear I had no idea it would rain before I planned this. I _swear."_

"I believe you," Sophia replied and stared out the window, her stomach growling loudly as they drove back home. So loudly that she insisted they stop and get fast food. And as the two of them sat in his car eating burgers, Eric felt the need to apologize again.

"I've been trying to be romantic all day, but as you can see, I'm terrible at it."

"That's okay," Sophia replied and drank her milkshake. "I know you're trying to impress me, but you really don't have to if it's not something you're comfortable with. I've accepted the role that you want me to play, you know, being the incubator for your demon hybrid babies, and I…I don't expect you to try anything more for me. You don't have to. It's fine."

Eric knew she said this in an attempt to ease his mind, but it just made him angry. "That's it?" He asked. "That's all you're going to say? Sophia, I am shocked at you!"

"Why?" Sophia questioned. "What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to be like Selina was!" Eric cried, "I want you to at least be mad! How am I supposed to become better at this relationship thing if you don't tell me what I'm doing wrong?"

"What?" Sophia asked, dropping her milkshake and not noticing the strawberry goo splatter all over her lap because she was so shocked. "Are you telling me that you want this relationship to be about both of us and not just you?"

"Yes, damn it!" Eric cried. "I've been trying to do that all day! Haven't you noticed?" He paused then before remarking, "Well, I know there's one romantic thing I can do that I won't screw up."

"And what's that?" Sophia questioned.

He didn't respond. Instead, he grabbed her and kissed her deeply, his fingers threading through her curly blonde hair and making it messy as she sneaked her hands under his shirt and stroked his abs.

Then he kissed her neck, and his lips tickled her skin, which made her laugh. Though he knew her laughter was probably just a reflex, it was still great to hear, and he pulled her closer to him, sure he could hear her heart thudding.

When they finally broke apart to take a breath, she said, "So what do you really think about us having twins? Are you nervous as hell like I am? Or are you not nervous because you think we're just gonna dump them on some nanny?"

"Oh, not this again!" Eric groaned. "We were having a nice time. Why did you have to go and ruin it by talking about that?"

"Why do you always treat it like it's some hard question I'm asking?" Sophia responded. "In your heart, you know what the right answer is. And if you want help, I'm sure Selina and your dad will help us, especially since they're gonna have a kid of their own too. It's not that I don't want us to have help if we need it, or that I don't want us to have time alone. I just want our kids to feel like we care about them and we should do that by actually raising them the best we can and not just dumping them off on strangers and paying attention solely to our own needs and wants. Do you understand that? Don't you want to see your sons grow up? You know what it feels like to be frustrated cause it seems like your father doesn't pay attention to you. Do you want to put your sons through the same thing?"

"No," Eric said after a long pause. "Damn you for making me feel all mushy and sentimental. Damn you."

"Well, if it made you finally see reason, you stubborn man, then I'm not bothered at all," Sophia told him, her chin up.

Eric's eyes then traveled to her milkshake-covered pants. "You have a stain on your pants," he said.

Sophia looked down and shrugged, removing them, throwing them in the trunk, and then sitting back down with nothing on below the waist but a pair of lacy white panties. "There," she said. "I'll throw them in the washer when we get back home."

"Do you know how hard it will be for me to drive knowing that you're sitting back here in your underwear?" Eric questioned.

"Yeah," Sophia smiled and kissed him again. "But it'll be a fun challenge for you, don't you think?"

* * *

Soon after encountering those affected by the rogue blue demons, AnnaLynne marched into Dorian's office complex along with Klaus, who offered to stay in the waiting area, and asked Jeannette if she could see him.

"Just go right on in," Jeannette replied. "I'm sure he knows that I wouldn't be able to stop you anyway."

"Good point," AnnaLynne agreed. She went to her father's office door and knocked. "Daddy?" She called. "It's AnnaLynne. I have something that I think we need to talk about. It's urgent."

Dorian opened the door, grabbed her and hugged her tight as he kissed her hair. "You don't know how happy I am to see you," he said. "When I heard what happened to you at the club, I just…I was so scared that you would die. I'm so glad you're alive." He paused, his eyes flicking upward and seeing his employees stopping to gawk at his unusual display of emotion. He gave AnnaLynne one more hug and then snapped at everyone to get back to work before he closed the door and assumed a more serious expression, before speaking again in a somber tone.

"What's the problem? Is it something that's actually problematic, or just some little annoyance that you don't have the patience to fix on your own?"

"No, it's a real problem this time," AnnaLynne said as she sat down. "Last night, Klaus and I were riding around on our motorcycle when we saw a bunch of people who were out and about and looked like they hadn't slept in days. It was after midnight, so it was kind of weird, and when I asked one of them what was going on, they said that nightmares from blue demons had stopped them from being able to sleep. What do you think about that?"

"I think this is a problem," Dorian told her, eyes narrowed, arms crossed. "And that something will definitely need to be done to deal with it. Something…drastic."

"I have an idea," AnnaLynne told him. "I know you probably want to punish them…but what if we redirected their energies in a positive way? Like at a boot camp or something?"

"Do you really think that reforming people who so clearly are intent on causing trouble will actually work?" Dorian questioned. "You can do many things, AnnaLynne, but I don't know if reforming a whole bunch of misbehaving demons on your own is one of them."

"Of course I won't be doing it on my own!" AnnaLynne replied. "Klaus said he would help me, and I think I'll ask Eric to see if we can use the gym as a base…I don't have everything fully planned out yet, but I thought at least I would be able to come to you with the beginning of a plan." She paused. "Cause come on, Daddy. You don't _really_ want to kill all the blue demons, do you? You know they can be perfectly nice and successful. Look at Jeannette. She's probably the best example we have that demons can be good too, and she's a blue one."

"True," Dorian nodded. "I'm not…I'm not dismissing the idea. It has promise. I just…I need to figure out how it will work, you know?"

"Sure," AnnaLynne nodded. "I understand. You know, Klaus is outside if you want to say 'Hello' to him. I asked him if he wanted to come in and tell you about the plan with me since it was somewhat his idea too, but he said that it should be just between the two of us to start out with."

"I do want to say 'Hello' to him," Dorian nodded and rose from his desk chair to follow AnnaLynne out of the office.

When Klaus saw them approach, he stood up too, and said, "So…AnnaLynne's told you about our plan, I suppose. And I would like to be involved, even if you want this to be demons only."

"Of course you should be involved," Dorian told him. "You're competent. You saved my child. Thank you for that, by the way. Thank you very much. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if you hadn't come upon her when you did."

"I would have died," AnnaLynne answered helpfully. "He saved my life."

"Yes, he did," Dorian nodded. "Yes, he did."

"So…if Klaus is going to be involved, that means you're gonna put our plan into action?" AnnaLynne asked, grinning broadly. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Yes," Dorian nodded. "But like I told you, I need to find out a way to do it. That's what still needs work. In the meantime, talk to Eric about making use of the gym, and keep tabs on those people you saw being terrorized, if you can. Before we start reforming these blue ones, we need to know just what they're doing, how long they've been doing it, and why, if there's more to it besides 'We just want to screw with humans."

"All right," AnnaLynne saluted. "Will do."


	71. You're Gonna Make It After All

"I can't believe Junior would just leave like that!" Sarah huffed to her parents over the breakfast table. "I mean, I should have figured when he ran off to Europe the second he found out I was pregnant, but I foolishly thought us having a kid would make him grow up!" She shook her head. "What kind of a guy, if he has a choice to stay with his wife and child or go back to do some sort of work that takes him away from them, chooses the latter? What sort of guy?"

"Sometime they think they don't have a choice," Matthew told her in a hushed voice. "Then they leave and realize after that it's the dumbest thing they could have done. Hopefully, Sean will see the error of his ways and regret his decision to leave. I know I did."

"I can only hope he'll feel that way," Sarah told her father. "But you can't compare Junior going back to something he doesn't _have_ to do to your going back to military service. They're two different things. What he did makes him a coward and a jerk. You weren't."

"I think that's being a little generous," Matthew remarked. "I didn't have to go and fight in the first place. I did it because my father wanted me to. If I had been strong enough to tell him to back off and let me stay home with your sister and Amelia, I would have. But I wasn't, so I was separated from them for way too long."

They then lapsed into silence because neither Sarah nor Christine knew what to tell Matthew when he talked about his past mistakes like this. Then, when the silence had gone on long enough, Sarah cleared her throat and turned to face her daughter. "So," she said, "What are you going to do with yourself now?"

"Well, I have a daughter to support so I should probably go out looking for a job or take some classes or something, right?" Sarah asked. "I mean, I can't just let you guys support us forever. That wouldn't be right."

"How do you plan to go about getting a job?" Christine wanted to know. "Is there something we can do to help you?"

"Not that I can think of," Sarah shook her head. "I have a plan, don't worry."

"All right," Christine nodded. "But if you _do_ ever need any help, just let us know."

Sarah then looked across the table at her mother, who held Ellie in her lap and was working on feeding her mashed up bananas. "You're helping me more than you could ever know and I love you for it," she said. "Believe me."

* * *

She drove around for a while, trying to think just what her next plan of action would be when she found herself driving past the gym where she knew her brother Patrick worked. Sick of driving, she parked in the parking lot and went inside after being checked over by a guard. She saw Patrick at the front desk and went over to chat.

"Hi," she told him. "Nice place you've got here. Although I could have done without the frisking the guard at the front entrance gave me."

"We just want to make sure that no one who shouldn't be in here gets in," Patrick told her. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay," Sarah shrugged. "Obviously, they thought I was the right sort of person, otherwise they wouldn't have let me in."

"Very true," Patrick nodded. "So…what's been up with you lately? We haven't talked very much."

"Well, it turns out the baby I was pregnant with didn't die after all, so I have her back now," Sarah said. "Her name is Ellie. Also, Junior ditched both her and me to go back to Europe and do his doctor thing even though he didn't have to, so now I have to find a job, since I can't have my parents supporting me and Ellie forever."

"Well, we need someone to work at the snack bar during the week," Patrick told her. "I know it's not the most glamorous work, but it's something to start with at least." He got out a job application form and handed it to her.

"Thanks," Sarah replied. "You really think I have a chance of getting hired here? I don't have much work experience."

"Hey, neither did I and I'm practically the boss," Patrick pointed out. "So don't worry about it. I'm sure they'd rather hire someone I vouch for than some random person off the street."

"That's true," Sarah replied and then took the pen he offered her to fill out the form. When that was done, she handed it to Patrick and he said, "You should know soon whether you got the job or not."

"Don't they have to interview me first?" Sarah asked. "I want this done the right way. I don't want to cheat anyone out of an opportunity if they could do it better than me."

"Oh, please," Patrick scoffed. "It's working at a snack bar. You'll be a shoo-in!"

"Thanks, Patrick," Sarah smiled and backed away from his table.

"Are you just gonna go?" He asked. "Cause with all that's happened to you, it seems like some time in the sauna or the hot tub wouldn't hurt." He paused. "Or you could get a massage. We just got people in who do that, you know."

"You have?" Sarah asked, thinking that a massage sounded awfully good right now. "I just might have to give them a try. I think I deserve it. Thank you, Patrick!"

"You're welcome!" Patrick called after her as she scampered away. "Enjoy!"

It was as she made her way to the massage rooms that she walked past a room where Klaus and AnnaLynne were talking about the demon boot camp. She didn't want to interrupt because she wasn't sure that she would even have a place in something like that, but it was something she definitely wanted to be a part of. It would be better than dealing with difficult customers at the snack bar for sure. She would definitely have to ask for a job with them at some point.

* * *

"I have to tell you how proud I am of you for wanting to save Sammy when the bar was burning down," Leslie told Sam. "It gave me a heart attack cause I thought you were going to die, but…I'm really touched at how dedicated you are to him."

"Of course," Sam replied and cuddled the dog that rarely left his side. "He's my little buddy!"

"Well, how would you feel if I told you that you were soon going to have _another_ little buddy?" Leslie asked. "A more… _human-like_ one this time?"

Sam's head shot up and he locked eyes with her. "Are you pregnant?" He asked. "When did that happen? You didn't even tell me you were going off your pills!"

"Well, once I saw how much you cared for the dog, I began to feel more secure about the whole family idea and that's when I stopped taking the pills," Leslie confessed. "And I didn't tell you that I did because I wanted it to be a nice surprise for you. _Should_ I have told you?"

"No!" Sam shook his head and smiled as he put the dog down on the floor to scoop Leslie up and give her a hug and a kiss. "This is the best surprise you could have given me!"

"I'm so glad you're happy," Leslie told him when he put her down. Do you think it's too soon to tell your dad and my sister?"

"Not if you don't think it is!" Sam told her. "Let's do it!"

* * *

"She's pregnant?" Damon asked in surprise when they told him and Annie. "Well, that's great! But I didn't even know you could father children, Sam!"

"I was never a hundred percent sure I could either," Sam admitted. "But I always kept the thought in the back of my mind because I wasn't exactly turned the normal way. Like, I don't think I died in order to change over. And that's probably why this all worked out!"

"And you're _both_ happy about this?" Annie asked. "It was a mutual decision between the two of you?"

"Well, I would say it was once she stopped taking her pills," Sam told assured her. "And I had no idea that she was even ready to be pregnant. She didn't say a single thing about it until right now."

"Yeah," Leslie assured her sister. "He's telling the truth. Thanks to the fact that I have next to no symptoms whatsoever, it was pretty easy to hide until I wanted to say something."

"I wish you the best of luck then," Annie told them as her face relaxed into a smile. "I wonder how Sammy will react to having a little baby around."

"We'll help him get ready for that somehow," Sam told her. "It'll all work out."

"Are we the first ones you've told?" Damon questioned Sam. "Do you still need to tell your mother?"

"Yeah, I still need to tell her," Sam nodded. "And since she's having a kid too, that'll be fun. It'll be like our kid will have at least one ready playmate."

"That's kind of weird to think about, but I suppose it's true," Damon agreed. "And is Roxie thinking of rebuilding the bar?"

"No, she and I took jobs at Dorian's club once it gets rebuilt. It's practically done now," Sam informed his father. "We're set there."

"Good," Damon nodded. "I wondered what you were gonna do about work. I'm glad to know you're taken care of that way. Especially now that you have a kid coming."

"Yeah, I know," Sam nodded.

"Are you worried about it?" Damon questioned.

"No," Sam shook his head. "Not really. I mean, when I think about how I grew up, you know, you did a lot of 'fly by the seat of your pants' parenting, and I turned out all right. If you can do it, I can."

"Well, thanks," Damon grinned. "I think."

"I meant that as a compliment," Sam assured him.

"I should hope so!" Damon replied, and then shook his head. "I'm just teasing, don't worry. And I think you'll do all right cause you have Leslie," he told his son. "It's not like you're going to have to raise your kid alone."

"You're right," Sam grinned and took Leslie's hand. "I'm not."

"But I wonder what we'll name our baby if it's a boy," Leslie mused. "You can't name him after you because you already did that with the dog and I will not have three Sams running around. That's just too much."

"All right," Sam conceded and gave Leslie a kiss. "His middle name will be Sam then. Or Samuel Sam Samson."

"I don't know if you're teasing or if you're serious," Leslie said.

"I'm teasing," Sam promised with a smile. "Don't worry."

* * *

Kai and Victoria were at home with Lydia when Kai's cell phone rang. He groaned when he saw it was John and refused to answer it. "I don't have to be at his beck and call anymore!" He told Victoria. "He can just solve his own problems now!"

"Well, do you know for sure that you're off the hook with him?" Victoria questioned. "Did he ever officially tell you that you were free? Since that phone keeps on ringing, I'm not so sure."

Kai growled as he realized his wife was right and picked up his phone, answering it at last.

"What kept you?" John asked irritably. "Do you know how long I let that ring? Why didn't you answer?"

"Cause most people would take not answering as a hint that the person being called doesn't want to talk," Kai replied. "What do you need? I thought I was done being your lackey."

"This isn't a task for you to do per se," John told him. "It's just that….Freya has been going on and on about Ingrid having friends and being properly socialized. I figure since you have a child and I have a child…maybe you'd be willing to help me get Freya off my back? It could be good for both of our children."

"Maybe, maybe not," Kai replied. "I might have to check with Victoria first and see what she says."

"Oh, of course," John agreed. "By all means, do that. And then when she tells you that's a good idea, I'll expect you over here with…what's your daughter's name?"

"Lydia," Kai replied. "Her name is Lydia."

"Right, Lydia," John responded. "She's the child you were able to have after agreeing to come into my service. How's that going for you?"

"It's going well, thank you," Kai told him. "But just a question: You didn't do anything weird to her, did you? Like, put any dark magic on me that would make Lydia come out hurt or dark or screwed up in any way?"

"No," John shook his head. "If she's difficult, that's her natural behavior. And based at least on who her father is, it doesn't surprise me she turned out that way."

"Well, aren't you funny?" Kai remarked dryly.

"Yes," John said immediately. "I really think I am. Now, can I expect you and your daughter at my house soon?"

"Do I have a choice?" Kai asked.

"No, not really," John told him.

"Well, then I guess we'll see you soon," Kai told him and ended the call.

"What was that about?" Victoria asked as Lydia began squirming in her lap and reaching for Kai. "Something that's not good?"

"Oh, it's not as bad as it could be, I guess," Kai replied and took Lydia in his arms. "Apparently, Freya has been nagging John about finding ways to get Ingrid properly socialized and he's got it in his head that a play date between her and Lydia could be just the thing. Can you believe that?"

"It makes sense to me," Victoria replied. "I think it's a good idea."

"But Vicky, that will mean I have to spend time with John!" Kai cried. "And I don't want to do that! Can't you take her? You and Freya would get along so much better!"

"You don't know what John's reaction would be if he told you to show up and you didn't," Victoria reminded him. "And I'm sure John won't make the whole thing miserable for you. I think you need to buck up, Malachai. I really do."

Kai narrowed his eyes at her. "Really? Whose side are you on, anyway?"

"I'm on the side that will stop you from being killed," Victoria told him. "And I don't feel bad about it. Now, you might want to get going to John's. He's probably timing you and will give you hell if you're late."

"Right," Kai huffed. "But you know where I am and if I don't return in a couple of hours at least, send a search party to look for my remains, okay?"

"You are _so_ over dramatic," Victoria told him as she rolled her eyes.

"Am I, Vicky?" Kai questioned as they all made their way to the door so Victoria could see Kai and Lydia off. "Am I?"

* * *

"Kai!" John said with a smile as he opened the door to Kai's knock and invited him and Lydia inside. "And little Lydia! How wonderful to see you! I was beginning to be worried. You were _almost_ late!"

"Well, that's because I didn't really want to come, but Victoria made me," Kai told him.

"Victoria is very smart," John replied and patted Lydia on the head.

They then made their way to the living room where Ingrid was on her belly on a blanket on the floor, trying to get up to her knees and crawl.

"No Freya around?" Kai questioned John as he lay Lydia down beside Ingrid and sat as far from John on the nearby sofa as possible. "She actually lets you watch Ingrid alone sometimes?"

"Oh, yes," John nodded. "Ingrid and I are very close."

"That's nice," Kai remarked before turning his attention back to his daughter and tensing up as he waited for Ingrid to attack her or something. Cause John _would_ do something like that just to be horrible.

But to his surprise, she never did. In fact, she and Lydia got along well enough. He didn't sense an immediate friend vibe, but there was no hostility. At least not until Freya came home, very pleased to see that John had listened to her about Ingrid getting friends.

"They're getting along so well!" She remarked and then got her daughter's attention as she pushed a small ball Ingrid liked to play with toward Lydia.

Lydia smiled and began to play with it, hitting it and pushing it around until Ingrid realized that someone else was playing with her favorite toy and decided she wanted to take it back.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, what is the matter with you?" Freya asked her daughter as she took her in her lap. "You weren't even playing with that. Can't you share? Can't you get along with others? It's very important!"

"Actually, and Kai can verify this, they were getting along reasonably well until you came back and upset their playtime," John told her.

"That's true," Kai nodded. "They were."

Freya sighed and felt very relieved as she watched Lydia let go of the ball and push it in Ingrid's direction and then they both returned to their companionable silence.

"Maybe you should accept that this is as good as it will get for now," John told her as the two of them headed into the kitchen. "I know you don't want her to be evil, but maybe pushing her too much will do it. Maybe by trying to make her be too good before she's ready, you'll be making the monster you so fear she'll become." He put a hand on either side of Freya's face and kissed her.

"You really think that'll happen?" Freya asked.

"I don't know, but it could," John shrugged. "We have to be ready for anything, don't we?"

"Yes," Freya sighed. "I suppose so."

"Can I get you a drink?" John asked her. "How's Gwen doing? Is she managing losing your father well?"

"Yes," Freya nodded and grinned when John got out a bottle of Chianti and two glasses. "She actually seems kind of relieved about it, to be totally honest. And in a way, I don't blame her because Father can get to be a bit much sometimes."

"So you don't think she's planning any sort of vengeance toward Dorian for doing what he did?" John questioned, "Are you?"

"No," Freya shook her head. "And it's a good thing too, because frankly, I think it would be very stupid of her to even try. And me too."

"Yes," John nodded, knowing what he did about the demons. "You're definitely right about that."


	72. In A World Of Our Own

"What are you doing?" Lily asked Elijah as she pushed the half-open door of his office all the way open and let herself in. She saw him writing something at his desk and was very curious.

"If I tell you, you have to keep it a secret, okay?" Elijah told her. "It's a surprise for your mother."

"What kind of surprise?" Lily smiled and came to sit on her father's lap.

"Well, I was thinking that your mother and I might get married," he told her, kissing her hair. "Would you like to be in the ceremony? I thought we could have it in the garden."

"I would like that very much," Lily nodded. "And I think it would make Mommy happy."

"Me too," Elijah agreed. "But remember, you can't tell her about it. It's a secret."

"Okay," Lily nodded, putting a finger to her lips. "I won't say anything, I promise." They planned a little bit more and then, when Lily bumped into Amy on her way back to her bedroom, she tried her best not to give away everything she knew. And for a little girl, she did a pretty good job. Amy sensed something was up, but she didn't know precisely what, and a small part of her didn't want to ask in case it was a surprise she wouldn't want ruined. So she played dumb and waited, eager to see just what Elijah was up to.

* * *

Finally, on the morning of the wedding, Amy was surprised to see that Lily was up early and dressed in a pretty white dress. "You look nice," she remarked to her daughter over the breakfast table. "Why are you wearing that?"

Elijah and Lily looked at one another and he said, "She just told me she wanted to. Isn't that nice?"

"Yep," Lily nodded, not missing a beat. "It was pretty and I wanted to."

"Ah," Amy nodded, the feeling of suspicion settling in her again. She drank her coffee and ate her eggs, then went to take a shower. And when she was done and came out of the bathroom with her bathrobe on, she started a little when she saw Lily coming through the door, carrying an off-white dress covered in colorful butterflies and flowers.

"Wear this today please," she requested. "Then we can match!"

With that being said, Amy couldn't contain her curiosity anymore. "Is something going on today?" She asked. "Is there a secret you and your father are keeping that you don't want me to find out?"

"Well, it's nothing _bad_ ," Lily grinned widely. "I promise. Now put on the dress! And hurry!" She then scampered out of the room before Amy could ask any questions and met up with Elijah in the hallway.

"So she has the dress now?" Elijah asked. "Did you get it in her room all right? Should I have helped you?"

"No, I did good," Lily assured him. "I had to tell her that it was a good surprise, but she doesn't know anything else."

"Good," Elijah nodded and hugged her. "You did a good job. Now go wait in the living room, okay?"

"All right," Lily nodded.

Elijah then went into his and Amy's room to see if things were going as smoothly as Lily claimed. "Amy?" He called. "Did you put the dress on that Lily brought you?"

"Yes," Amy nodded and came out of the bathroom, her hair damp, her feet bare, and her dress unzipped. "Would you zip me up, please? And would you tell me why it's so important for me to wear this dress? What's going on?"

"Well, I want it to be a surprise," Elijah told her. "And Lily assured me that she already told you it wasn't a bad surprise. But here's a hint." He then got down on one knee and Amy gasped.

"Oh, my god," she said.

"Will you marry me today?" He asked. "In that beautiful dress, in our garden? I love the idea of being married with my family. If you want a big to-do, we can have it later."

"No-no!" Amy shook her head, still shocked. "I-I don't need that. A nice, small, leisurely wedding in the garden will be fine."

"Good," Elijah smiled, gave her a kiss, and zipped her up before showing her a box with a diamond ring in it. It wasn't super big, but it wasn't small, either. Then he said, "Do you think you can be ready in twenty minutes?"

"Sure," Amy nodded. "But I'm gonna need a little help."

"All right," Elijah told her. Then, he went and got Lily, who was more than happy to help her mother with her hair.

* * *

Then, when his daughter met him in the garden after strewing flowers down Amy's walkway, he said, "Did you do your mother's hair nice?"

"Yes, I did," Lily nodded. "She looks _beautiful_!"

"Well, I have no doubt about that," Elijah told her as he gave her a hug. "Thank you for helping me with this."

"You're welcome," Lily replied. "It was my pleasure."

Then the music started up and Amy appeared, making her way through the yard. Elijah's breath had caught at first, but as she got closer to him, he couldn't help but smile, cause from the look of her hair, there was no doubt that Amy had let Lily take the lead. It was piled on top of her head in a haphazard, messy fashion, but pinned in just the right places to keep it still.

"You look lovely," he said when she joined them. "Love your hair."

"Oh, I know!" Amy remarked. "Lily did a great job, didn't she?"

"She really did," Elijah agreed, which made Lily smile.

They then turned their attention to the minister and Lily held out her hand to take the pink roses her mother had been carrying so they could begin their vows.

"Do you, Elijah Mikaelson, take Amy Estella Burke to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, til death do you part?" The minister asked Elijah.

"Oh, yes," Elijah nodded as he put his hands on either side of Amy's face and looked deeply in her eyes. He only looked away when Lily whispered, "Daddy, you're not supposed to kiss Mommy yet!"

"What makes you think I'm gonna do that?" He asked her.

"You always look at Mommy like that before you kiss her," Lily shrugged.

"Do I really?" Elijah looked at Amy.

"Yeah," she smiled. "You do."

Then they turned back to the minister, who, after he watched Elijah put the wedding ring on Amy's finger, gave Amy _her_ vows. "Do you, Amy Estella Burke, take Elijah Mikaelson to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, as long as you both shall live?"

"You bet!" Amy nodded, tears slipping from her eyes.

Elijah wiped them off, slipped the ring on her finger, and then waited for them to be pronounced man and wife, and once they were, they kissed each other deeply as Elijah dipped her backwards and Lily applauded loudly.

"Now we have one more thing to do before this is over," Elijah said.

"What's that?" Lily asked.

"Both the bride and the groom have to kiss the flower girl," Amy told her. "So come here."

"Okay!" Lily smiled, jumping into Elijah's arms as both her parents hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. "I like weddings. I think they're great!"

"Yeah," Amy smiled at Elijah. "Me too. Thank you for this, Elijah. It was a wonderful surprise."

"I'm glad you liked it," Elijah nodded and took her in his arms. "I hoped you would." Then he kissed her as Lily hugged him around the waist, happy to have parents who clearly loved each other.

* * *

"So tell me what he did again?" Lilith requested of Sophia as they hung out in Dorian and Selina's kitchen, talking about Eric and his attempts at romance.

"Well, he tried to make me breakfast, he got me a puppy, and then we went on a picnic," Sophia said.

"And it all went wrong, I take it?" Lilith asked.

"Yes," Sophia sighed. "The breakfast was just made up of stuff he got from around the kitchen and what he _did_ cook was overdone, we found out that I was allergic to the puppy, and just when we started the picnic, it began to rain."

"Poor you," Lilith remarked as she patted Sophia's shoulder. "Eric just can't be romantic, I guess."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Sophia replied as Eric made his way to the kitchen and paused just outside it to listen. "When he did what he did, I felt something. It was so sweet, but I just…I don't know how to express it." She shook her head, her cheeks flushed a deep pink.

"You don't have to say it," Lilith promised as she took Sophia's hand. "I know that you like him. You know that you like him. Maybe love him, even."

"Yeah, I think I do," Sophia nodded. "In my own weird way, I love Eric."

They then heard the sound of a throat clearing and turned, their eyes landing on Eric as he strode to the refrigerator. "Don't mind me," he said, although there was a wide grin on his lips cause he'd obviously heard every word of their conversation. "You ladies keep on talking."

"Sorry," Lilith told him. "Didn't see you standing there."

"Would it really have mattered if you had?" Eric told her. "I'm so glad we're not seeing each other anymore. It takes a lot of worry out of my life."

"Well, if I was so troublesome for you, then why did you keep me around for so long?" Lilith questioned.

"I don't know," Eric shrugged and then reached into the refrigerator for a snack. "Beats me." He came over to kiss Sophia's hair. "Especially when there are so many better options out there."

She smiled and blushed. "Oh, stop," she said.

"No," he whispered, his lips against her ear becoming a smile. "Never."

He left then, and Sophia looked at a shocked Lilith, whose mouth was agape. "You were saying?"

"I was saying that…hell, I guess I was wrong. Sorry about that," Lilith got out.

"Yeah," Sophia smiled, warmth pooling in her belly. "You really were."

* * *

As with past pregnancies, Selina was prone to restlessness, so she was up drinking tea and looking at the sunrise through an open window in the dining room when Sophia came running in, her eyes wide with fright, her belly suddenly much bigger than it had been just the day before.

"I don't know what's happening!" She cried. "What if something is wrong?" She eyed Selina. "You're bigger too! How can you be so calm about this?"

"I just assumed that it was a result of the demon genes," Selina shrugged. "And once you've been pregnant with twins and triplets, a sudden big belly isn't a shock. But it must be for you, since it's your first one. Or your first ones, if you want. No wonder you're worried." She came over and hugged Sophia as much as their bellies would allow. "Anything else I can do to help ease your mind?" She asked.

"Yeah," Sophia nodded. "Could I have some of that tea, if it's not too much trouble? And maybe…tell me what it was like when you were carrying twins or triplets?"

"Sure," Selina nodded and gave her a smile. "I wouldn't mind that at all." She got Sophia her tea and then sat down next to her. "Where would you like me to start?"

"I take it you also felt like a beach ball had attached itself to your belly?" Sophia winced. "And that your back hurt like hell so it was impossible to sleep comfortably?"

"Oh, yes," Selina nodded. "It's like that somewhat with all pregnancies when you get big enough. You could ask Dorian for a potion that will help relieve your physical symptoms. It's what he gave me and it's brilliant. Or you could just make Eric give you massages." She grinned. "That's an option too."

"Yeah," Sophia smiled and rubbed her hands. "I like that option!" She paused. "And I know we'll have to see about either going back to the hideout or getting a place of our own once the babies are born, cause it's just too much to have three infants screaming at once, right? And there's not enough room, is there?"

"Oh, I'm sure Dorian will find a way around that," Selina assured her. "I've already seen him looking at house listings at the office. It'll all work out." She paused. "Any other worries?"

"Yeah," Sophia nodded, her voice quieting. "But you're gonna think it's stupid."

"Try me," Selina said. "I've been through so much that there's nothing I haven't seen. Nothing that I would think is stupid."

"Well," Sophia continued, "This is obviously the first demon baby I've ever had, or the first baby in general and…I'm afraid I might not make it."

"That's not stupid," Selina assured her. "Granted, it's been a while since I felt that myself, but the first time I was pregnant, I was human, it was the nineteenth century, and there was a war going on right outside my door. In general, the chance a woman had to get through childbirth wasn't high."

"No wonder you were scared," Sophia said. "But how did you get through it?"

"Well, I just remembered that my mother made it through, and I was a strong, healthy woman myself, so that was a help when it came to getting through delivery. But beside that, I just had to stop thinking about it so much and just see what happened." Selina shrugged. "Sometimes, that's all you can do. But I really think you'll be fine. I do."

"Really?" Sophia asked and drank her tea. "I hope so. When all this is over, when I've finally had the babies, my mind is going to be a much happier place, that's for sure."

Selina gave her one more hug and then they both looked out at the sunrise.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Eric asked Sophia when he found her and Selina the next morning. "You got up to go to the bathroom a few hours ago, and when you didn't come back, I was worried."

"You wanna know why I didn't come back?" Sophia stood up, showing her large belly. Seeing it made Eric's eyes widen.

"Well, that's…I wondered when that was gonna happen," he said.

Sophia's jaw dropped. "You _knew_ I was gonna look like this and you didn't say anything?"

"You're pregnant with twins," Eric reminded her. "I can't believe it's a surprise."

Sophia scoffed. "Why is it that you seem to know more about this than I do?" She asked.

"It's cause of their big plan to use us to make hybrid demons," Selina told her. Then she said to Dorian, who came into the kitchen a few seconds later, "Why do you need to make hybrid demons anyway? What's wrong with just regular ones?"

"Well, there are drawbacks to demons mating with demons," Dorian told her. "Take Sophia and Eric's twins, for instance: If they were both demons, as we've said, that twin pregnancy she's in the middle of most likely wouldn't end well. But with that witch gene in there, it makes the babies not as hostile in the womb. Don't you see? Demons mating with people from other species make for not only more powerful babies, but for stronger ones as well. Ones that will last longer compared to their fully demon peers. Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded thoughtfully. "I guess it does. Thanks."

"You're welcome," Dorian nodded. "Oh, and there's something else I need to run by the two of you: I was thinking that now would be a good time to tell everyone about your pregnancies and everything else. Is that all right with you?"

"Yeah," Selina replied and put a hand on her belly. "You might as well. It's kind of hard to hide now."

"Good," Dorian smiled. "I have a press conference scheduled to talk about it. I think it will be on channel ten if you want to see it." He paused. "Or you could come if you want, I suppose. But I wouldn't want either of you to be uncomfortable."

"I don't need to go," Selina told him, groaning as she shifted position a bit. "I can watch it on TV."

"I agree," Sophia nodded. "I'd much rather stay here."

So Sophia and Selina sat in the living room with popcorn and lemonade and watched the press conference on TV where Dorian and Eric announced the next generations of demon royalty were on the way and they were extremely surprised at everyone's reaction to the news.

"They all seem so happy," Sophia remarked. "Were you expecting that?"

"Not exactly," Selina shook her head. "But it's nice. You think we'll be front page news tomorrow?"

"Oh, yeah," Sophia nodded. "And I can't wait to see it."

* * *

It was after she woke up from a nap later that day that Sophia found the note on her pillow in Eric's handwriting. _Meet me in the dining room. I have something I want to tell you._

Curious, she got out of bed and as she was about to leave the room, she paused. Something told her that she should change clothes and brush her hair, which was wild from being slept on for so long. After staring in awe at her large belly for a few moments, she pulled on a pink dress and made her way out of the bedroom, into a house that seemed to be very dark all of a sudden, lit only by dim light.

"Eric?" She called. "What's going on?" She made her way to the dining room, where Eric stood by the table in formal dress, grinning and holding out a white rose to her.

"What's all this?" She asked as she looked around the dimly lit dining room. "I have a feeling it's not because we lost power."

"I heard you and Lilith talking," he told her. "About my attempts to romance you the other day."

"I hope you didn't take it the wrong way," Sophia told him quickly. "I found what you did very charming. You don't have to worry about that. And remember all the other flattering stuff I said." Then, she noticed he was still holding the rose out to her. "Sorry," she mumbled and took it. "I didn't mean to leave you holding that. You probably think I'm ungrateful and horrible." She turned and began walking away. "I'm sorry," she called over her shoulder, her voice shaky. "I know I've ruined everything!"

"No, no, come back here," he urged, taking her hand and looking into her eyes. "You didn't ruin anything. I'm…I'm oddly touched that you think you ruined this for me and I'm upset by it. Cause really, if anyone ruins my romantic gestures, it's me because I have no idea what the hell I'm doing." He smiled and Sophia chuckled.

"Well, you didn't do so bad," she assured him. "We're holding hands. There's nice romantic mood lighting, you got me a flower, you left me a nice note…You're doing pretty well. Oh, and I haven't forgotten what you whispered to me that made Lilith take bad all that bad stuff she said about you. That was really sweet too. And kind of hot." She paused and took a breath. "When you're like this…when you're doing all this stuff for me…it really makes me feel special. I don't know if I deserve it, but if you want me to be impressed, I am. And it…it really makes me like you. Love you, even, if a confession like that won't scare you away."

"Of course not!" Eric grinned widely and moved some hair out of her eyes. "If you think my clumsy and ridiculous gestures are romantic, it won't scare me away." He then turned on a radio and soft music filled the room as he took her in his arms and they danced.

"I don't think this gesture is clumsy and ridiculous," she assured him. "I love it. You've swept me off my feet."

"Good," Eric said and kissed her soundly. "I'm so glad to hear that."

"It could be the person who's ruining this is me," Sophia told him. "It's kind of hard to dance close together when I'm so fat."

"Oh, you are _not_ fat," Eric shook his head. "Don't you say that."

"I'm fat," Sophia repeated. "You don't have to sugarcoat it. It's okay."

"Well, you've put a little weight on, but it's not the same as being fat," Eric told her. "You're pregnant with twins, there's a difference."

Sophia nodded, shutting her eyes as she rested her head on Eric's shoulder. "Do you still think I'm pretty?" She asked.

"Of course," Eric assured her as he kissed her hair. "I'll always think you're pretty." He then brought her chin up and kissed her again before moving his hands to push up the skirt of her dress. He thought she would hesitate, that she would resist, but she didn't. He backed her up against the wall, his hand slipping inside of her panties and giving her a good rub as he nibbled on her neck.

Then, while they both breathed heavily, he grabbed her hand and they raced to the bedroom. After he helped her undress and into bed, he climbed in after her and kissed her again: her lips, her neck her fingers, her inner thighs, and especially her belly, before parting her legs and pleasuring her with his tongue, his cock throbbing with every moan of pleasure that escaped her mouth. But he had to ignore it. This was all about her. He wanted to show her that she was desirable to him. Cause she was, more than she could ever know. Not just a commodity anymore, but someone he loved and cherished more than life itself. This was something he was only just beginning to be able to admit to himself, and it was much easier to do once he knew for a fact that she loved him too. And she did. He'd heard it from her lips and it had sounded damn truthful to him.


	73. You're My Baby

Soon after the wedding, something happened to Lily. She said she didn't feel well, and so Amy and Elijah decided to delay any honeymoon type plans until they were sure she was better. They soon found out that her 'sickness' had led to her being in her cocoon. "What should we do?" Elijah asked after a couple days of waiting for her to emerge and seeing nothing. "Should we just leave her like that?"

"Well, yeah," Amy nodded. "What else _can_ we do?" She shut Lily's bedroom door and led Elijah to their bedroom and into the bathroom where she turned the water on and began undressing. "Now that she's going to be all right, do you wanna start honeymooning now? No sense in waiting." She paused and flushed a little. "Or is that unfeeling of me?"

"No, it's not," Elijah shook his head as he stripped and joined her in the water. "Lily's not ill." He kissed her. "You're right to suggest we think of ourselves."

Amy smiled as she threw her arms around his neck and felt him rub against her under the water. "I guess you're right."

Elijah grinned and pulled away for a moment, gently washing her body with a soft, white wash cloth covered in lavender-scented gel. Then, after that was washed off, he pulled her to him to inhale the scent of her skin, planting a trail of soft kisses down her neck and shoulders and then kissing her lips with more passion and intensity until he was burying himself inside her over and over, her fingers threading through his hair as she moaned with every thrust.

But then they paused as they heard footsteps heading toward the bathroom. Rapid footsteps, followed by a knock on the door.

"Just a minute!" Amy said. "Can it wait? We're in the bath!"

But then the door opened and what they saw next made them completely forget their state of undress. Because the person who had come into the bathroom was Lily, aged about sixteen, naked, and looking very sticky.

"Sorry," she told them, her hands over her eyes. "I didn't mean to disturb you, but I thought you'd want to know that I went through that change you told me about. And I'm…obviously I'm bigger now."

She took her hands off her eyes and backed out of the room. "Okay, now that you know that, I'm going to shower and get all this sticky stuff off me. Bye!" She left then, slamming the door behind her and leaving her parents staring at one another, open-mouthed.

"Well," Elijah said after clearing his throat, the romantic spell broken. "We knew this was coming, but it's not something you can truly be ready for if you're not a demon, is it?"

"No," Amy shook her head. "Apparently not." Then she remarked, "But Lily's awfully pretty, isn't she?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded as they heard the shower running. "And now that she's a teenager, those demon genes will probably kick in and all she'll want to do is have sex with boys."

"Now don't start this," Amy told him warningly. "This urge you have to repress behaviors that you don't like. It drove you and Selina apart. Do you want that to happen with you and Lily?"

"No," Elijah sighed as he climbed out of the tub and fastened a towel around his waist. "I don't, but I can't help worrying."

"I know," Amy assured him and grabbed for his shirt and putting it on. "But the best thing for us to do, no matter how hard it might be for you, is to sit on our hands and see what happens. I think we've built enough trust with Lily that she won't go out of her way to be troublesome."

"I hope so," Elijah remarked as Amy gave him a hug and he tried to squelch any impulse to lock Lily in her room so she never set eyes on a boy ever.

"I really don't think you have anything to worry about," she said. "Remember that picture she drew of her and Selina and Dorian's son, Arthur? The one where he's dead because she drove a sword through his chest for being annoying?"

"Oh, yes," Elijah grinned. "Thank you for reminding me about that. I feel much better about the future now."

"Good," Amy smiled and took his hand. "Why don't we go check on Lily now? See if she needs any help?"

"That is a very good idea," Elijah agreed, and after draining the tub, they grabbed their clothes, left the bathroom to go dress and waited for Lily to get out of the shower.

* * *

"I hate everything!" Todd stomped around the house and plopped down on a chair. "I just…I…why?!"

"Will you stop being a walking stereotype?" Percy questioned. "Can't you think of something to do with yourself?"

"Percy, be nice!" Jill remonstrated. She'd been spending a lot more time at Malachai and Helene's since Faye had left because otherwise, everyone would gang up on poor Todd. "If he wants to feel bad about Faye, he should be able to."

"Oh, all right," Percy rolled his eyes.

"You have a girlfriend," Todd reminded him. "Why don't you go spend time with her? Unless she dumped you." He grinned.

Just then, the phone rang.

"I'll get it," Helene called. She grabbed the phone and nearly dropped it when she heard the voice on the other end. She brought the phone to Todd and held it out.

"I don't want to talk to anyone," Todd grumbled.

"It's Faye," Helene whispered. "I'd take it if I were you."

"What?" Todd asked, wide-eyed as he grabbed for the phone. "You better not be joking."

"I'm not," Helene shook her head. "Would I do that to you, Todd?"

"I hope not," Todd told her, then ran to his bedroom with the phone, settling on his bed before he put it to his ear. "Hello?"

"I'm so glad you answered," Faye's breathless voice replied. "I was so afraid that you wouldn't want to talk to me after I left you and all. So…how have you been?"

"It's hard to be anything but terrible when the one decent thing in your life is gone," Todd replied. "But hearing your voice, I feel a little better. Please tell me that you're calling to say that leaving was a mistake and you're planning on coming back."

"Actually, that's exactly what it is." Faye told him as Todd let out a cheer and hopped out of his bed to dance around the room until he heard her talking to him again. "Todd? Are you there?"

"Yeah, sorry," Todd apologized. "I was just…soaking in the news."

"Okay," Faye replied. "So you're happy to hear I'm coming back, then?"

"Yeah," Todd nodded. "I am. I've been kind of…lost without you."

"I've missed you too, Todd," Faye told him. "I really have."

"How did your fairy friends take it when you told them about us?" Todd questioned. "Was it bad?"

"Of course it was bad," Faye told him. "But I don't care. It doesn't matter. I don't regret the choice I made. I'll never regret choosing you. Now, I'm calling from the airport. You wanna come and pick me up? I mean, I could zap myself to your doorstep or walk or whatever, but I hope you'll pick the option that will let me see you sooner."

"I won't keep you waiting," Todd promised. "I'll be at the airport right away."

* * *

In all his excitement about seeing Faye again, Todd had forgotten to ask what her flight number was, or what gate he should meet her at, so he spent several frustrated minutes at the airport, roaming around, calling her name, and probably sounding like a total lunatic. Then, he felt someone rush him and knock him down face first on the carpet from behind. He was ready to turn around and yell at the person, but when he saw it was Faye grinning down at him, a mischievous twinkle in her eye, her face surrounded by that lovely curtain of red hair, his anger melted away and he hugged her hard. "There you are," he got out. "You really know how to make an entrance."

"I'm sorry if you're hurt," she apologized as they both got to their feet. "I saw you and I was so excited that all control just left me."

"No, I'm not hurt," Todd assured her. "And even if I was, it wouldn't bother me. It was for a good reason." He gave her a smile, picked her up, and twirled her around. "I'm so glad you're back!"

"I'm glad you're glad I'm back," Faye smiled and kissed him. "I honestly thought you wouldn't want to see me again. I even thought about not coming back at all because I thought if I did, the sight of me would make you angry."

"You never let that bother you before," Todd pointed out, taking her face in his hands as his dark eyes stared into her blue ones. "Why would it give you pause now?"

"Cause I didn't love you before," Faye got out. "What you thought of me before didn't matter. But now…now I know that it would. And if you were angry, it would be harder for me to take."

"Well, here's the deal," Todd said. "You don't leave and I won't be angry. Is that fair? Cause I have feelings for you too, and I can't express them if you're not here. Got it?""

"Yeah," Faye nodded and took his hand in one of hers and grabbing her suitcase with the other.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," he said and shook his head, putting a spell on her suitcase with wheels that would make it follow them through the airport as he picked her up and carried her to his car.

"What if someone asks about the suitcase?" Faye whispered as she watched it over his shoulder. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"It's okay," Todd assured her. "If anyone asks, we'll just tell them it's remote controlled."

"Ah," Faye nodded as he grinned back at her. "Works for me."

* * *

"Oh, my god!" Jeannette stood up as she saw Sophia making her way into the office, looking like she was in terrible pain. She collapsed in front of her desk and Jeannette got down on her knees beside her. "Oh, damn," she said. "Sophia, are you all right? What's going on? I'll go get Eric and call you a doctor!"

Sophia nodded and let out a terrible shriek, which brought Dorian, Eric, and Selina running.

"What in the hell?" Eric said, trying to help Sophia to her feet. "What's going on? Are you in labor? Why are you here? You should have called me instead!"

"I thought I would be fine driving here, so I wouldn't have to interrupt your work," Sophia gasped, clutching her belly and giving a wry laugh. "Guess I was wrong."

Dorian and Eric got her to her feet and helped her into a chair, and Selina got her a drink before they hustled her out to the car and made their way to the hospital.

They were driving along as fast as they could when they were stopped by a policeman who wanted to give them a ticket for speeding. Dorian tried to do the best he could to explain where they were going, but Eric interrupted him and made his demon face at the man, which scared him so much that he cried out, dropped his pad, and drove away.

"That wasn't a good way to handle things," Dorian frowned at his son.

"I know, but this is an emergency," Eric pointed out. "If you were in my place, you would have done the same thing."

And Dorian had to admit, as Selina began yelling too, that he was right. When they got to the hospital, both women were immediately ushered into wheelchairs and sped to the maternity ward while Dorian followed close behind. "Good luck with your babies!" Selina called to Sophia.

"You too," Sophia called back. She was wheeled to a room, put in hospital clothes, and then all she could do was wait for the babies to come.

Her anxiety was lessened somewhat when Selina and Dorian returned an hour or so later.

"What are you doing here?" Sophia asked in surprise. "I thought you were in labor yourself."

"I thought I was too, but it was a false alarm," Selina told her. "So it appears that today will be all about you." She paused. "Is there anyone else I can call to be here with you? Your parents, maybe?"

"Yes, please," Sophia nodded. "Call my mother. And…and tell her to call my dad. Please."

"Sure," Selina nodded. "Of course." She called Jill and soon, Jill came running into Sophia's room, panting loudly with Christian.

"Am I late?" She asked. "Please tell me I'm not late!"

"We're not late," Christian assured his panicked wife. "See?"

"Nope," Sophia shook her head before letting out a scream of pain.

"You know, when I was giving birth to Sophia, Christian did this thing where he put his hand on my belly and I didn't feel any contractions," Jill told Eric. "You think you can do that for her?"

Eric nodded and did just that and soon, Sophia let out a sigh of relief as the pain ebbed and her body relaxed.

Then, her labor progressed more easily until, after a few more hours, Sophia gave birth, first to Nathan and then to Ben, as Selina and Jill held her hands tight and whispered encouraging words.

"You did it," Eric told her as she opened her eyes in response to the twins' cries. "You made it through. Thank you."

"What do they look like?" Jill questioned. "Demons or people?"

"Demons at the moment," Eric replied, gazing at the pale bodies with red eyes and little horns. But then they calmed down and turned into humans with a spray of dark hair on top of their heads.

"There," The nurse smiled as she put Ben in Sophia's arms and Nathan in Eric's. "There are your beautiful babies. What a nice little family."

Sophia cuddled her son for a moment and then looked up at Eric. "So what happens now?" She asked. "Do I get to rest or do I have to give an interview to the populace and pose while the papers take pictures of me and our baby?"

"That'll have to happen at some point," Eric told her. "But not now. It can wait until tomorrow."

"Good," Sophia snuggled her son against her. "Cause now I just want to be with my babies."

"Me too," Eric told her as he sat in bed next to her with Nathan, his dark eyes bright. "Me too." Then he looked at Dorian and Christian, who'd been patiently waiting and watching. "You wanna come and say 'Hello'?" He asked.

"Yes," Dorian nodded, coming forward and patting Nathan on the head before Eric handed him over so that both his grandfathers could get a closer look. "I think I do. It seems like we have a couple of strong boys here, and that's not a surprise, considering how powerful and strong their parents are." He locked eyes with Sophia. "You did a wonderful job and you were very brave. I'm proud of you."

"Me too," Christian agreed and leaned down to kiss his daughter's forehead. "You did wonderfully."

"Thank you," Sophia got out, feeling like she was going to cry. "Thank you very much."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I only hope I can do as well as you did."

"You will," Dorian assured her and gave her a kiss before running his hand over her belly. "I just know you will."

"Thanks," Selina smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. "I really needed to hear that."


	74. Love The One You're With

After Sophia gave birth and Dorian set her, the twins, and Eric up in one of his many properties, Selina got some time to bond with them all before she gave birth herself.

"It's so sweet of you to help us," Sophia told her. "Especially when it probably won't be long before you have Arthur."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I bet it won't."

* * *

It was one of the times that Sophia seemed to feel like she'd inherited psychic powers from her mother because that night, Eric got a call from Dorian saying that Selina had gone into labor.

"Is everything okay?" Eric asked. "Is Selina in pain? Do you need me to come and help?"

"No, we've got it taken care of," Dorian assured him. "Just wanted to tell you where we were in case you needed us for anything or wanted to come visit."

He then heard Selina cry out in the background, followed by Jeannette muttering reassuring words. "Sounds like you _do_ have it taken care of. When Arthur is born, let us know, would you?"

"Sure," Dorian nodded. "Of course."

"All right," Eric told his father. "I'll let you go back to focusing on your wife now, and see if Sophia needs any help with the twins."

"I bet she does," Dorian told him. "You take care of your boys and I'll focus on seeing my latest son be born."

"All right," Eric agreed. "Tell Selina I'll be thinking about her, will you?"

"Yeah," Dorian assured him. "I will." He ended the call and took Selina's hand while Jeannette moved the hair out of her eyes. "That was Eric," he said to her. "He and Sophia are thinking about you."

"Well, that's nice," Selina remarked before gritting her teeth and letting out a scream. "My god, does it always hurt this much? How bad would it have hurt if I wasn't a demon before we did this?"

"Probably worse," Dorian told her. "In fact, it might have killed you."

"Oh, my god, sir! Don't tell her that!" Jeannette cried. "And I know what I'm about to do might get me fired, but I have to do it." She hit him on the arm and Dorian made a face. "Don't you make her more freaked out then she already is!"

"You make a good point," Dorian conceded as he rubbed his arm. "Selina, I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Oh, you didn't worry me any more than I've already been worrying myself," Selina assured him. "It's fine."

"Can you go any faster, Jim?" Jeannette called. "Please?"

"Sure," Jim told her. "I'll see what I can do." He put his foot on the gas, and soon they were at the hospital, with Selina in a wheelchair being pushed toward a hospital room.

When she was set up in a hospital bed and the doctors and nurses were doing what they could to help with her pain (Dorian didn't know the spell to ease pain for some reason, so they had to think of other ways to deal with it), Dorian called her parents and uncle to tell them she was in labor.

As he expected, it didn't take them long to arrive after he gave them directions to the hospital and then ended the call and called Eric.

"Are you all right?" Amelia asked as they all rushed to Selina's bedside. "Are you in terrible pain?"

"It's not as bad as it was before," Selina told her. "But I would be much happier if Arthur would hurry along already."

"Well, sometimes, they don't," Amelia told her. "Would you like me to regale you with stories about how long and torturous and painful your delivery was for me? I think I might have even blacked out at one point."

"I'm sorry," Selina told her as she gritted her teeth. "It won't happen again."

"Would you like some ice?" Matthew asked. "I'll get you some ice." He stepped away from the bed and went to go do that while Andrew looked apologetically at Dorian. "We just stormed in here and took all the good spots, didn't we?" He remarked and moved over. "Why don't you come here?"

"Thanks," Dorian replied and came to stand next to him.

Matthew came back with Selina's ice and all they could do was wait.

"What are you doing?" Andrew asked as he watched his brother pace around the room.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Matthew asked. "I'm pacing. I'm terrible with deliveries. Cause there's always the chance that it's not gonna end well."

"You don't think I know that?" Andrew asked. "Who lost three children and a wife during his first marriage? It certainly wasn't you, was it, Matthew?"

"Can we stop talking about people dying during labor?" Selina got out. "I would really appreciate that."

"Sorry," both Andrew and Matthew apologized as Amelia threatened to kick them out if they said another word.

To say that Selina was relieved when she finally heard Arthur was about to make his grand entrance would be an understatement.

Amelia, Matthew, and Andrew moved out of the way and stood in another part of the room, letting Selina and Dorian be together when their baby finally arrived, crying loudly.

"You can open your eyes," Dorian told Selina after, who'd shut her eyes and waited for what she was convinced was the inevitable bad end, when Arthur had been safely delivered. "You made it."

"I did!" Selina exclaimed as she opened her eyes and took a deep breath. "I did!" She then looked at her family and smiled. "Thanks for coming. I appreciate it!"

"You're welcome," Andrew replied. "But it was hell trying to get in here. There are people and cars everywhere."

"Oh, that's probably the newspapers and TV people," Dorian remarked, then looked at Selina. "Do you think you'll be able to pose for a picture and say a few words? It won't take very long, I promise."

"Sure, I think I can do that," Selina nodded. "You know, I completely forgot about you being demon royalty. Completely forgot." She rested for an hour or so and then she was cleaned up and dressed and did a quick interview from her hospital bed, promising that there would be something more extensive when she was well-rested.

When the cameras were gone and it was just Dorian and Selina alone with their baby, Selina hugged Arthur to herself, unable to stop marveling about how cute he was. "Arthur Frederick Henry Gray," she sighed and smiled down at the baby. "How do you think Eric and Sophia's twins will take to him?"

"I don't know," Dorian shrugged as he patted his son's head and kissed him when Selina handed him over. "But it'll be interesting to see, won't it?"

"Yeah, it will," Selina nodded. "But I don't need to ask about his personality. I know he's gonna be imposing for sure. I have a feeling about that. But that's good in a ruler, I guess."

"Oh, of course," Dorian nodded. "You have to be imposing to keep a good grip on the demon world." He paused and leaned forward. "Thank you for going through all this. You probably don't want to do it again, do you?"

"I might," Selina nodded. "But not for a long time."

* * *

"You don't seem so shocked about how I changed," Lily told Elijah as she made her way into his office again for the first time since she'd grown up. "I thought you would."

"Well, we knew it was coming," Elijah told her. "So what was there to be shocked about? Now, since you're a teenager and all, I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything, right?"

"Even dating?" Lily asked, a wide grin on her face. "Can we talk about boys?"

"No, that can be done with your mother," Elijah told her, flushing a little. "But while we're on that subject…now that you're going to be interested in boys, you won't forget about me, will you? I've heard that demons can be very much involved with members of the opposite sex and frankly, I'm a bit concerned about that."

Lily leaned forward and Elijah held his breath, waiting for how she would respond. Would she get mad? Would she storm out of the room? Would she go out and get a boyfriend just to spite him? But instead, she just came around the desk and hugged him hard.

"Mom told me that you and I would probably talk about this," she whispered into his neck. "But I want you to know that I won't forget about you. I swear. I haven't even had time to find boys worth going after yet. And I'm not in any rush. Especially when the future has told me that the guy I'm gonna be with has only just been born." She shuddered, made a face, and then, to Elijah's surprise, got into his alcohol cabinet and had herself a drink.

"Now, now, you don't have to do that," Elijah cried. "Stop it!"

"Sorry," Lily quickly apologized and put the bottle back, closing the door. "I know that's your special stash. I'll stay out of it from now on."

"Good," Elijah nodded. "And you shouldn't be drinking now anyway. You're just a teenager." Then he asked, "How much do you remember from before you grew up? Does your memory just continue, or does it stop and start all over again?"

"Of course it continues," Lily replied. "Otherwise, I'd have no idea who you are, would I?"

"Yes," Elijah conceded. "I suppose you have a point there."

"And you don't have to worry about me and boys either," Lily assured him. "I think there'll be plenty of time for that later. Now I just want to _be_ , you know? Get used to the change. Stuff like that."

"Well, good," Elijah nodded. "I'm glad to hear that." He came around to hug her and she smiled.

"You think Mom suspected about the wedding?" She questioned.

"I have no doubt she suspected something," Elijah said. "But it's nice that she played along."

"I thought it was a very nice ceremony," Lily remarked. "Not that I have much to compare it to. Or _anything_ to compare it to, for that matter. But it just felt right."

"I have to agree," Elijah nodded. Then he said, "You seem to be all right, but I have to ask: _Do_ you feel as good as you look? Cause if you don't feel all right, you can say so."

"No, I promise I'm fine," Lily assured him and took his hand. "But thank you for asking."

"You're welcome," Elijah smiled. "Sorry if I seem so overbearing, but did you know that right before your mother and I found you, she had a miscarriage? She was at the club too the night your parents died and got hurt."

"That's so sad!" Lily cried. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you," Elijah told her. "But that's what made finding you when we did so special. It was like a reward for all we'd gone through, for everything we lost. But I've always wondered: what made you want to come home with me? I was just some stranger that came up to you on the street!"

"You seemed nice," Lily shrugged. "I didn't feel scared of you. You were the first person who stopped to see what was wrong with me. Everyone else walked past. And I knew that if I didn't go home with you, I'd have to spend the night sleeping in wreckage and I didn't want that."

"No," Elijah shook his head. "No one would. But you were a real…a real pleasant surprise, that's for sure. Your mother and I are grateful for you every day."

"I feel that way about you guys too," Lily said as she hugged him. "I really do. You have no idea."

* * *

"This is such a pleasant surprise," Helene told Faye as Todd ushered her into the house. "I wasn't expecting you to be back so soon."

"Oh, I was planning on coming back all along," Faye replied. "I just needed to tie up some loose ends at home first." She paused and caught Helene's eye. "My family would see Todd as an outsider and it's not really common for fairies to marry outsiders. Work for them, yes. Marry them, no."

"Well, do you think it will be really problematic?" Helene wanted to know, knowing all too well the stigma of marrying an 'other'.

"I have no doubt," Faye nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised if they come for my wings any day now."

It was then that Todd grabbed her and kissed her. "Tell me what they look like," he said. "And if I see a damn fairy, I'll kill them!"

"I don't know how successful you'll be able to be because fairies are very sneaky, but it's a nice sentiment," Faye told him. "Let's not talk about the fairies anymore. I'd rather think about more pleasant things. Like getting settled here, or wherever it is that you want me to rest my head."

"Oh, you can stay here," Todd assured her. "My bed's big enough." Then he narrowed his eyes as Helene raised an eyebrow. "What?" He asked. "Did you think I was going to make her sleep on the floor?"

"No, of course not," Helene told him. "I'm just surprised you were able to get that out in front of me."

"Well, now I don't care about what you all think anymore," he told her and picked Faye up again. "And I'll say whatever the hell I like!" He strode off, taking Faye to his bedroom and setting her down on his bed before going back to the living room to get her bags.

"Nice room you have here," Faye remarked when he returned. It was a very sparsely decorated room, mostly devoid of color cause Todd didn't like to bother with stuff like that.

"I know it's a bit dull," Todd told her. "You don't have to lie. And now that it's your room too, I'd be willing to let you make some changes."

"You would?" Faye asked in surprise. "Well…thank you very much. I won't go overboard or make it too girly, I promise. Just one coat of paint on the walls and that's it."

"I know you won't be able to keep that promise," Todd told her as he sat down next to her on the bed and watched her lay down on the mattress. "But thanks for saying it anyway."

She yawned and said, "You know, I'm a bit jet-lagged. Otherwise our conversation would be longer."

"Well you should sleep then," Todd remarked, lying down with her and putting his arm around her waist. "You mind if I stay here with you?"

"No," Faye smiled and shut her eyes, the warmth of his body against hers making it easy to relax. "In fact, I'd like that very much."


	75. The Fight For The Future

"You know, motherhood really seems to fit you," Dorian remarked when he came in to Arthur's nursery that was decorated in dark reds and blues and found Selina staring down at him lovingly. "You must really like children."

Selina straightened up and turned to smile at him. "Well, thanks to becoming a vampire when I did, I didn't really get the chance to raise my first son, so now…now whenever one comes along, I don't miss a second of it."

"I was a bit unsure how you would take to raising a demon child," Dorian admitted. "If it would take you longer to bond with him than it had with your other children. But…apparently it was an unfounded worry."

"It might have been a little harder at first if I hadn't become a demon myself before he was born," Selina confessed. "But I sure as hell would have given it everything I had in me."

"I know you would have," Dorian kissed her. "That's why I love you so much."

Selina smiled and hugged him. "I love you too," she said. "And Arthur. And everyone else you brought into my life."

"So it was really worth it to burn all the bridges you had to in order to be with me?" Dorian questioned. "I know there were things and people you had to give up because not everyone approved of our relationship."

"Well, yeah, but you make me happy, and if people don't want me to be happy, if people want me to give _up_ what makes me happy just because they don't like it, then those are people I really don't want in my life anyway." She paused. "But I _did_ like working at the school. On some days, I sort of miss it." She paused, her eyes widening, a smile appearing on her lips.

"What would you say to there being a school for all the hybrid demon kids?" She questioned. "Do you think that would fulfill a need? Or do you think they'll be accepted enough that that won't be necessary?"

"You know, for now, while the idea is still new, that might not be a bad idea," Dorian told her. "I don't know if we need to start building just yet, since our children are still babies, but they become full grown when they hit between the ages of three and five, so it wouldn't hurt to at least draw up plans right now."

"And do you think we could actually find people willing to teach there?" Selina asked. "Cause I mean, I know a lot of things, but I don't know if I could teach everything myself. I could also make up an announcement to put on the demon news." She paused and shook her head. "I still can't believe that demons have TV networks that humans don't know anything about."

"Well, why shouldn't we?" Dorian asked. "We've been watching the human world long enough that we know about things like TV. And if we just came out and mixed with humans immediately, it wouldn't end well. It's a protection thing. And you won't have to do it alone. The school, I mean. We will be able to find people to help you." He smiled at her and picked up Arthur, who opened his eyes and began to fuss. Then he looked down at his son. "You'll proud of your mother," he told him. "She's really making things happen. Thanks to her, you'll have a really nice world to live in."

"And rule," Selina added.

"Right," Dorian grinned. "And rule." Then, as her expressed became somber, he asked, "What's the matter?"

"Well, maybe I've read too many novels, but…we know for sure that Arthur's gonna be next in line to rule stuff after you, right?" Selina questioned. "I mean, what about Eric? Is he gonna want to rule next? I need to prepare for these things!"

"I think it would be foolish to lead you to believe everything is going to just go smoothly and there won't be any problems," Dorian admitted with a heavy sigh. "Not from Eric himself, of course, because I think he's perfectly happy where he is, but his mother, who's one of my more…prominent exes, might be just a tad cranky when she finds out about him, and how I'm planning to deal with the succession now that he's here."

"And when you say 'a tad cranky' that's an understatement for 'she's gonna be really pissed off and murder the competition our beds to make way for her son', right?" Selina asked.

"If there was no one to stop her, she might go that far," Dorian agreed as Selina clutched at his arm and let out a squeak. "But do you really think I would let you and Arthur be murdered in your beds? And she's just a demon. You're a demon and so much more. Are you really that afraid of someone who's weaker than you?"

"Well, of course not," Selina shook her head and clutched Arthur protectively, her eyes wide. "But it's not easy to stop crazy people! I would know. I _was_ one once."

"Nothing will happen to either of you," Dorian swore as he took both Arthur and Selina in his arms. "I promise."

* * *

"Oh, my god!" Lily cried when she came downstairs after reading a book and found Selina sitting on the sofa next to Amy with Arthur in her arms. "It's him! What's _he_ doing here?"

"Oh, my god!" Selina's eyes widened. "Lily, when did you get so big?" She looked at Amy. "That _is_ Lily, right?"

"Yeah, I'm Lily," Lily nodded and sat down on a chair that was as far away from Selina and Arthur as possible. "Did you know that when he grows up, your son will be a giant thorn in my side?"

"Well, I'm sorry about that," Selina apologized. "Is there anything we can do to prevent that from happening? I'm already gonna do the best I can to keep him from becoming spoiled."

"Thanks for trying," Lily said, running a hand through her red hair. "But I don't think this is something you can stop. I think we just have to sit back and wait for the inevitable."

"Oh, I'm sure he won't be as bad as all that," Amy told her. "Maybe if you spent time with him, you wouldn't think he was so bad."

"He's a baby," Lily reminded her mother. "I don't think I'd be any good with babies."

"You don't know that," Amy told her. "Have you ever _been_ near a baby? I think you're just telling yourself that you'll be bad with Arthur cause you've made yourself believe he's terrible."

"Oh, I didn't just make myself believe it," Lily assured her mother. "I saw it in a vision. I know it's going to happen. I know it it for a fact."

"But the thing about visions is that they're always just strong possibilities for the future," Amy told her. "It's never anything exact. Things can always be altered."

"How do you know that?" Lily asked, crossing her arms and looking very irritated. "Do you have psychic powers, Mom?"

"No, but I know enough about them to confidently say that's how they work," Amy told her. "If you wanted to, I think you could make things more pleasant for yourself."

"Yeah, but what if I _don't_ want to?" Lily questioned.

"I don't know why you're so belligerent all of a sudden, but I don't think I like it," Amy remarked.

"What are you gonna do then?" Lily asked. "Send me to my room?"

"No," Amy shook her head. "I have something else in mind."

* * *

"I can't _believe_ you're making me watch him!" Lily whined as Dorian, Selina, Elijah, and Lily prepared to go out to dinner and she stood in Selina and Dorian's living room. "I already told you I didn't want to." Then her demon face showed, red eyes, gray skin, and horns, and when she next spoke, it was in a distorted voice. "Aren't you afraid that I'll kill him if you leave us alone?"

"No," Dorian shook his head, grabbing her hand and temporarily removing her powers. "Since you have no power, we're not worried about that at all. And as an extra precaution, my driver Jim will watch you while you watch him."

Jim came into the room and waved. "Hi," he said. "We're gonna have a nice, peaceful, evening, aren't we?"

"I can't believe I have to be babysat while I babysit," Lily growled. "Why couldn't you just have someone else watch him that doesn't make you worry so much? Why is this lesson so damn important for me to learn?"

"Because I think it's good for you to learn not to be slave to your visions and be more open to a wide range of possibilities," Amy told her firmly. "Now, we won't be gone long. Just a couple of hours. How much trouble can happen in so little time?"

* * *

But Lily learned in the following two hours that a lot could, and that it didn't help her opinion of babies and Arthur…at all! He wouldn't stop eating, and of course what goes in must come out, and she felt like she was spending the whole evening stuck to the changing table as the wastebasket filled with used diapers.

"Oh, I hate children," she gritted her teeth. "I _really_ hate children."

He also spat up all over his clothes, and it took forever for her to get him to sleep.

"So…having fun?" Jim asked when she finally was able to leave Arthur for a moment and found him raiding the fridge.

"No, I am _not_ having fun," Lily spat at him. "And you could help me, you know."

"No, I can't," Jim shook his head, his mouth full of a turkey sandwich on rye that he'd made. "I was told not to. And I've heard that you should always agree with the person who signs your checks."

"Well, I finally got him to sleep," Lily sighed. "I bet it won't last long, but I did it."

This made Jim put his sandwich and run to Arthur's bedroom to see just _how_ she'd gotten him to sleep, and if he was even still breathing.

"All right," he said when he'd ascertained that Arthur was still among the living. "He's alive. Good job."

"Did you really think I killed him?" Lily asked. "When I said that before, I was just letting off steam. I wasn't actually going to do it."

"You can never be too careful," Jim told her. "I wouldn't have skipped checking. Not when there are people in the demon world who actually _wouldn't_ hesitate to kill Arthur if they could."

"Really?" Lily's eyes widened, "Who?"

So Jim spent what little time there was left until the return of his employers and Lily's parents, telling her about all of Dorian's enemies and how much danger Arthur could hypothetically be in.

"Wow," Lily said as she heard Dorian open the front door and announce their return while Selina ran to check on Arthur. "I had no idea."

"Not many people do," Jim told her, his face solemn. "But it's true."

"Did our daughter behave herself?" Amy asked Jim. "Is everything in one piece?"

"Yes," Lily said. "As a matter of fact, it is."

"Good," Elijah nodded and hugged her. "I hope you learned a good lesson from this."

"Yes, I did," Lily said. "It'll be a damn long time before I have children."

* * *

"So give it to me straight and you don't have to lie," Sophia told her mother as she and Eric sat in Jill and Christian's living room. "What are our kids gonna be like? Good? Bad? Anything we need to prepare for at all?"

"I can't just pull information like that out of my brain," Jill told her. "And even if I could, I don't think I would tell it to you unless it was something truly troublesome."

"Why?" Sophia asked.

"Because I don't want you treating your children differently just because you're afraid that they _might_ be bad," Jill told her. "What I see doesn't always happen the way it unfolds in my head. I want you to love your children. I mean, when I first was pregnant with you, I was kind of frightened. I thought I was going to give birth to someone who was totally evil, but that was wrong, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, I'd say so," Sophia nodded. "I'm pretty good."

"Yes, and I know that because I didn't let my fear dictate how I treated you," Jill told her. "Do the same for your kids."

"Of course she will!" Christian told Jill. "If she can find it in herself to like Eric as much as she does after all they've been through, I don't think we need to worry about her and the boys."

Eric opened his mouth to protest, and then shut it. "I was going to be upset by that remark, then I realized you're right," he said.

"Yes," Christian nodded. "I am."

"How are you handling it all?" Jill asked. "Do you guys need any more help?"

"No, we're good for now," Sophia assured her. "Eric's stepmom Selina just had his half-brother so they bring him over and help us out sometimes."

"Well, good," Jill smiled. "But if you ever need us for anything, don't hesitate to say so."

"Thanks," Eric told her. "Really."

"You're welcome," Jill said. "I'm just so glad to hear that the two of you seem to be managing well. It's not the easiest with two babies."

Sophia and Eric looked at one another and then she said, "I honestly believe we should look at how things are with them now as the quiet, peaceful times, because something tells me it's just gonna get crazier as they get older."

"Is that a prediction?" Christian grinned. "You think you have psychic powers like your mother?"

"No," Sophia shook her head. "At least I don't think so. It's just a really strong feeling, that's all."

* * *

"This is something you never thought would happen, right?" John asked as he and Malachai sat in the same room, staring at one another.

"Yeah," Malachai agreed. "Can't say I ever thought I would find myself in a position where I would have to ally with you. So can I ask what's finally making you do the right thing and _fight_ the demons instead of causing trouble along with them?"

"Well when I was told that I was just as expendable as everyone else they were after, it changed my perspective a bit," John admitted with a sigh.

"As it would if it were me," Malachai agreed. "So…any ideas on what we should do next? Do you know what the demons are up to? You're more connected to them than I am."

"Oh, but I doubt I'll get any information from the closest connection I have," John sighed. "My granddaughter just gave birth to twin boys who were fathered by the same man who threatened to murder me, or have me possessed or whatever his plan was. I think we might be on our own here, Malachai. I mean, the rest of the Mikaelsons might be on our side still, but we need to be careful."

"That's not a problem is it, though?" Malachai asked. "We can do this. We can take them down."

"Of course we can," John nodded. Then he poured them both a glass of red wine and held his aloft. "To us," he said, and Malachai nodded, clinking his glass against John's. "To us. And our success at fighting the demons, no matter what it costs us in the end."

"You couldn't be more right," Malachai told him. "We'll take them down, no matter what it costs us."

 **The End**

 **Next up: It's A Demon's World. The war between the demons and the Mikaelsons and their allies continues and the first generation of demon hybrids finds love and war among themselves amidst the chaos.**


End file.
